211. Flood

In the Christian Petersen Art Collection, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Date	1938
Material	Painted plaster cast
Dimensions	16 1/2 x 9 in. (41.9 x 22.9 cm)
Description	Woman standing holding a small child in her arms while looking back over her left shoulder. Created after experiencing a 1936 flood on the Mississippi River.
Markings	n/a
Provenance / Location	1) Mary Petersen; Purchased. CPAC, Gift of Class of 1919. UM85.48 2) Dr. and Mrs. Charles Ryan; Charles J. Ryan, M.D., Naples. Florida. Charlie Ryan, NJ. (Promised Gift)
Alternate Title(s)	n/a
Notes / Sources	Papers, SC, Box 5 f.16, Mason City Public Library exhibition June 19-July 19, 1958; image in Iowa Homemaker, Nov. 1942; Des Moines Tribune, Nov. 26, 1942; Wallace's Farmer, Col 68, Issue 1, 1943; Olson, Gwen (1954) "Aesthetic Fingertips," The Iowa Homemaker: Vol. 34 : No. 7, Article 3; Battle Creek Enquirer (Battle Creek, Michigan), Apr. 4, 1971.

In 1938 Christian Petersen and his family vacationed in Kentucky. He visited rural people and witnessed their celebrations and sorrows. During this time, the federal government was planning the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) which was a major public works project in the southeast region of the United States to control flooding and provide electricity. This sculpture may reference some of the severe and devastating floods that people of Kentucky endured prior to the implementation of the TVA.