I’m thrilled to share that a new article on Elsie Lower Pomeroy’s citrus paintings has been published in California History (University of California Press)! Elsie’s painting We Grow ‘Em (1939) graces the cover of the entire issue! Huge thanks to Dr. Lauren Freese (Professor of Art History, University of South Dakota), whose deep research—including a fellowship in the USDA archives—led to this fascinating study of Elsie’s work.
From the article’s abstract:
“American artist Elsie Lower Pomeroy’s career can be considered in two phases: her precise scientific watercolors of fruit varietals for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and her extensive body of work featuring California life, landscape, and agriculture. A strong interest in agriculture and nature persisted throughout Pomeroy’s varied career and led to her series of five watercolor paintings of the Southern California citrus industry, completed in 1937. Pomeroy leveraged rhythmic abstraction and her knowledge of citriculture to bridge art and agriculture. The series contrasts the dangers of industrial orange cultivation with the economic and culinary upside, especially for the wealthy growers who profited from the labor depicted. Furthermore, while the series incorporates skills and knowledge from the artist’s USDA training, it represents a clear departure from pomological illustration, a genre closely associated with women, in favor of genre scenes that feature revealing portrayals of the danger of industrial citrus.”
One thing that stood out to me was the term “citraculture”—a word I hadn’t encountered before. It captures the full range of cultural, economic, and environmental factors tied to citrus farming. Reading this article made me think more deeply about how Elsie’s meticulous USDA botanical illustrations connect to her later paintings of California agriculture and farming landscapes.
This publication is such an exciting milestone in keeping Elsie’s work in the public eye, and it’s given me fresh motivation to continue sharing more of her story. Thanks to everyone who follows along and helps bring Elsie’s art and legacy back into the light! More soon!
