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Nineteenth-Century America in Art & Literature

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Art Inquiry: Mahantango Valley Farm and reading
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Unknown artist, Mahantango Valley Farm (late nineteenth century)
The Mahantango Valley is located in central Pennsylvania near the Susquehanna River. Farms are often located near rivers. Water is needed to grow crops and to transport supplies and produce to and from farms.

Learn more about this work of art by answering the multiple-choice questions below. Mouse over the image for clues!

1. Why are farms often located near rivers?

  1. To water crops
  2. To transport supplies and produce
  3. Both A and B
  4. None of the above

2. What technology do the people on this farm use to get water for themselves and for their animals?

  1. Water faucets
  2. Water hoses
  3. Water pumps
  4. They do not use water.

3. Why would an artist choose to do a bird’s-eye view of a place?

  1. To show his/her skill
  2. Because s/he has limited skills
  3. So people would think s/he could fly
  4. To include all the details of the farm from both near and far

4. The artist painted this on something found in the house. What was it?

  1. A tabletop
  2. A window shade
  3. A wall
  4. A floorboard

5. When this painting was made,           people in America lived in rural areas.

  1. most
  2. few
 
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American 19th Century, Mahantango Valley Farm, late 19th century, oil on window shade, National Gallery of Art, Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch