Doug Osa
United States, born 1952 Olmstead's Farm, 1993
Etching
Loan: Collection of Steven Schmidt
Osa was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He studied at Kansas State University, the Kansas City Art Institute, the Art Students League in New York, and the University of Kansas. Osa’s etching of a logged field near Vinland, Kansas, suggests that fields and property lines can still be identified by the remnants of old hedgerows. Osage orange (also known simply as “hedge”), a tree common in the Midwest, was described as a perfect tree for hedge-rows because it is “horse-high, bull-strong, and pig-tight.” (Peattie, 142) Such “living fences” are becoming scarce because Osage Orange is a valuable fuel wood and, ironically, is an ideal wood for fence posts as it does not rot in the ground.
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