2-859-421 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Cabin in the Cotton, c. 1931-1937. African-American artist Horace Pippin began painting as a means of therapy, after his arm was injured during World War I. He was a self-taught artist, and this image may have been inspired by the song 'Cabin in the Cotton' which had been recorded by both Bing Crosby and Cab Calloway. After the painting was discovered in the window of a shoe-repair shop in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Pippin was convinved to begin exhibiting his work.