Ryder | Cutting the Pines

Chauncy Foster Ryder (American, 1868-1949)

Cutting the Pines

Etching, 8 ¾ x 7”

Louise Crombie Beach Memorial Fund, 1933.52

Silva Counterculture

Humans can easily convert any land from forest to open-land by cutting the trees, whether by axe or by an industrial-scale "mower." These pines are so straight and so regular that they appear to be part of a plantation of trees. This crop monoculture is similar to that of growing wheat, but with bigger plants.