“Gray and Gold,” by American Regionalist John Rogers Cox is a subtly patriotic Midwestern scene of bounteous grainfields, and stormclouds dominating a vast sky. Creating from his imagination, Cox (1915 – 1990) crafted the work for entry in 1942’s Artists for Victory exhibition. He finished the piece the night before the competition’s deadline, shipping it even though the paint had not yet dried. Layered glazes of oil, varnish and turpentine impart the painting with a detailed, flawless appearance. His second, and possibly last painting, “Gray and Gold” won the Second Medal in the Artists for Victory exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.