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Raphael Soyer (1899-1987) - economic injustice
Butler Institute

National Mus. of American Art

(also Moses and Isaac)

Sheldon

Sheldon (Isaac)


 

 


Soyer focused on the unemployment of the 1930s. It was a time of grotesque victory for feminists...women could find jobs (often under miserable conditions) while men could not.

Men were humiliated, finding it unbearable to sit at a table they could not supply. They drifted hopelessly and congregated in aimless crowds in the cities.

Reading From Left to Right (a reference to the standard method for identifying dignitaries in a photograph) portrays a group of unemployed men.

He is best known for his portrayal of tired working girls and women.

"Painting must describe and express people, their lives and times."

key2.gif (90 bytes) Soybeans are part of our economy - "Soybean" Soyer