William "Bill" Rakocy "Ohio Farm" Large Charcoal Drawing, 1957 — El Paso Artist

A large-scale charcoal drawing of a working Ohio farmstead, signed Rakocy and titled and dated "Ohio Farm 1957" on the verso. The composition is anchored at left by a steep-roofed timber barn rendered in dense vertical strokes, its dark mass set against a stippled, hatched sky. In the foreground a disassembled horse-drawn plow, wheels, and a barrel lie in the grass — the implement drawn with confident, sculptural line. A white gabled farmhouse with shingled dormer, chimney, and outbuildings sits across the worn dirt track, framed by feathery poplars and a bare-branched tree at right.

The drawing carries the regionalist sensibility of mid-century American scene work, with its emphasis on the rural vernacular — barn, fence rails, scattered tools, and a quiet farmyard caught in midday light. The hand is assured throughout, balancing the heavy tonal masses of the barn against the open, scribbled energy of the foreground field and path. Signed in graphite at the lower left within the image and titled "Ohio Farm" again on the reverse, with the date 1957.

William "Bill" Rakocy (1924–2008) was born and raised in the El Paso–Las Cruces borderland and became one of the region's most versatile mid-century artists — painter, printmaker, and illustrator. His career was shaped decisively by U.S. military service during World War II: stationed across the Pacific theater, Rakocy painted and sketched as he traveled through the Philippines, Japan, and the wider Pacific island chain, producing a body of work that stands as historically grounded field documentation. Back in El Paso, he became a fixture of the local art community, exhibiting regularly with the El Paso Art Association and building a regional reputation for work that combined technical facility with an illustrator's eye for place and narrative. His work appears in Borderland collections on both sides of the Rio Grande, and his Pacific-period paintings — annotated on the verso with place names, dates, and historical commentary in his own hand — are among his most sought-after work. Ohio Farm demonstrates that same documentary precision applied to the American interior: a specific place, a specific year, recorded with an artist's full attention.

CONDITION

Good. Charcoal and/or graphite on paper laid to board, with overall toning and scattered foxing and surface soiling consistent with age. Light handling wear and minor edge irregularity to the board; the drawing surface is stable with strong tonal contrast retained. Unframed.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Approx. 19 7/8" H × 30" W × 1/8" D
• Medium: Charcoal or graphite on paper, laid to board
• Signed: "Rakocy" lower left within image and again on verso
• Titled and dated verso: "Ohio Farm 1957"
• Unframed