Working the Oxen

30"x 40" oil on linen

This painting is a part of a series that I continue to paint from life at Connor Prairie living history museum in Indianapolis. The two steers (the one named "Blue" and the one on the far side "Red") are a big hit when they are yoked up to pull the cart or a wagon around the grounds of the settlement. The steers aren't designated as oxen until adulthood and only after they are fully trained to work. The cart was used to haul wood and to pick up manure which was very valuable in the day...the more manure you possessed, the wealthier you were!

Painting on the museum grounds gave me a new respect for all the toil that was done at this period in our history just to survive.

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