John Steuart Curry was hired by the agricultural school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison not to teach art but rather to cultivate art appreciation among the future farmers. This self-portrait incorporates a bird (probably the fictitious Kansas “Jayhawk” mascot) and one of the artist's earlier circus paintings. Curry's crossed brushes are reminiscent of the implements—crossed threshing flail and shepherd's crook—carried by the ancient Egyptian god of agriculture, a witty reference to his employer.