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Pursuits of Life in Mississippi by Simka Simkhovitch
Pursuits of Life in Mississippi

Pursuits of Life in Mississippi

Artist
Year1938
Classification painting
Medium oil on canvas
Dimensions12' x 30'
Credits New Deal Art Program
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
Location

  • Commissioned by the Section of Fine Arts, Simkhovitch described the mural as a representation of the typical people and life in Mississippi during his time. The center depicts a Mississippi family adjusting to social problems through the advice of a court representative and a minister.  On the steps is an African American playing the banjo and singing spirituals. The left depicts the life of sharecroppers, picking and weighing cotton, while another man takes accounts.  The background symbolizes the South.