Industrial labor in what Lawrence interprets as a socialist society was largely inaccessible to black workers before 1914. However, during World War I, hundreds of thousands of white workers left the workforce to be deployed. Due to the usual pool of workers being absent and the increasing demand for goods, American companies then began looking to the African American population as a last resort. Lawrence captures both the isolation of and yearning for workers through the white industrial worker shown in the upper right corner of the scene. While operating industrial machinery, the worker is shown overlooking a large, barren landscape: a space that would be full of workers. The cool, blue color scheme Lawrence uses in this empty space evokes an eerie, solemn tone; overall conveying the effects of World War I both economically and racially.
SKU: 65214
Creator: Jacob Lawrence
Date: 1940-41
Original Medium: Tempera on gesso on composition board
Original Size: 12 x 18 in
Location: Museum of Modern Art, NY
© 2016 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York