Press painting for Larger Version.
"The Good Earth""The Good Earth," a painting by Nashua artist Monty Whitfield, will be on display throughout March at the Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery in Portsmouth, NH as part of the New Hampshire Art Association's "Shape Up Exhibit."
Monty is a juried member of the New Hampshire Art Association and is affiliated with the National Watercolor Society and the Sharon Art Center of Peterbourough, NH.
Whitfield often uses literature as his muse, choosing his own mediums to literally 'paint a story.' His painting "The Good Earth" was inspired by the Pulitzer Prize -winning novel of the same name, by Pearl S. Buck, originally published in the early 1930's.
The Good Earth begins on Wang Lung's wedding day and follows the rise and falls of his fortunes. As a poor Chinese farmer he saves up enough money to buy The House of Hwang. He proceeds to buy it and a few years later, devastation and drought destroy Wang's fortune. His wife, O'Lan and family are forced to move south.
Once in the city, O'Lan and the children turn to begging while Wang Lung pulls a rickshaw.
Lung brings his family back to The House of Hwang and they once again prosper.
At the end of the novel, Wang is much older and he overhears his sons planning to sell the land and tries to dissuade them. They say that they will do as he wishes, but smile knowingly at each other.
Monty Whitfield edited Wikipedia's, "The Good Earth."
www.MontyWhitfieldsArt.com
