Art in the Great Depression

White Angel Breadline, by Dorothea Lange
(1933) taken in San Francisco

     Early modern period artwork and the great depression that influenced much of it is full of society's self-reflection on its place in nature as well as the industrial revolution. 

    The Great Depression was a time of widespread severe economic strife in the 1930s United States. Naturally, as art tends to express the experience of a society or group, art came to reflect those economic struggles.

    White Angel Breadline is a photograph taken of one of the breadlines that were common during the Depression. The photo shows both the young and old crowded together for what food can be provided. The pattern of the photo is broken up by a single man facing the other direction, which creates a focal point on him. Normally this kind of pattern breaking may be to show a difference, but here it just further illustrates the message present in the rest of the photograph. The man is wearing a old and very worn hat, with a dejected look on his face. Seeing him, one can imagine the sullen attitudes of all those standing around him.

Industrial Composition, by Robert Gilbert
(1932) painted in the U.S.

    The subject material in Industrial Composition is quite different to that of White Angel Breadline but it deals with similar ideas. The most important element in Industrial Composition is the positioning of the objects in the painting. The sky is occupied by clouds and smokestacks. The ground level shows railways, dirt, and rocks. At the very bottom of the painting, literally beneath the dirt, is 3 men hunched over working. This painting symbolically explains the consequence of industrialization. Factories and productivity have been placed above people, both literally and figuratively. I believe that the hunched-over position is also meant to show the "back-breaking" work conditions that the laboring class has been reduced to.

Sunday Morning in Grand Coulee, by Vanessa Helder
(1939-1941) painted in the U.S.

    At first glance, Sunday Morning in Grand Coulee is the most light-hearted among these three pieces. However, it also deals intimately with the Great Depression. The town looks well-built and new, but there's something off about it. Even with all that housing, there are no people. Except for a few sparse splotches, there is no grass. And even though there is a power pole, it isn't connected to anything. Much like the Great Depression, this small living space is full of empty promises and desolation.

Works Cited

Today, F. A. (2022, June 23). The Depression Era: American Paintings and photographs. Fine Art Connoisseur. https://fineartconnoisseur.com/2019/08/depression-era-american-paintings/

Northwest Museum of Arts + Culture. (n.d.). Sunday morning in Grand Coulee (Spokane Art Center instructors... Northwest Museum of Arts + Culture. https://www2.northwestmuseum.org/exhibits/d-sunday-morning-in-grand-coulee-493.htm

Google. (n.d.). White Angel Breadline, San Francisco - Dorothea Lange - Google Arts & Culture. Google. https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/white-angel-breadline-san-francisco-dorothea-lange/_gFDeColaEWX2Q