Nathaniel Cobb - Peace
Nathaniel Cobb (1839-1932), American
Peace, 1920
OIL ON CANVAS, 44 1/2 x 69 7/8 inches
Gift of the artist
This scene by Vermont native Nathan Cobb offers a somber allegory. A mother, dressed in ancient Roman attire, and her young son look out onto a desolate, ruined city. The absence of a husband or father figure adds to the work's doleful tenor. Painted in the aftermath of World War I, the scene embodies the destruction and loss that war leaves in its wake. The painting's title, Peace, is mournful rather than optimistic.