Social Realism and Photography in the Great Depression

Introduction to Social Realism

The social realism movement actually began in the 19th century, according to sociologist and social anthropologist Peter Worsley. It was an art movement based on depicting persons and landscapes exactly as they appear to the naked eye. It was adopted by American painters in the early 1900s, Worsley writes, and became "particularly important during the Great Depression" (late 1920s and early 1930s) (Worsley, 2010, p. 2). Worsley notes that social realism during the Great Depression was seen as a movement to depict injustice, economic hardship, and the suffering people endured during that era.

Worsley explains that "realism" reveals exactly what the eye sees, and the original realism movement grew out of the invention of photography, as artists wanted to create paintings that showed things as "objectively real." Realism was certainly the main thrust of the social realism movement during the Depression, because the paintings and photographs showed hungry people waiting in line for a bowl of hot soup, men breaking rocks, hobos hopping freight trains, and a mother comforting a hungry child while the father hitchhiked with his thumb out.

On a broader scale, Worsley continues, social realism is a continuation of the "realist" movement in French art in the 1800s. A good share of the artists who used the genre were "socialists" — not Marxist per se, but socialist in philosophy, he points out. Realism, in fact, is the opposite of "Romanticism" (Worsley, p. 2), and was a rebellion against "exaggerated emotionalism."

Origins: The Ashcan School and Depression-Era Themes

The Ashcan School painters actually originated American social realism, according to Worsley (p. 3). These artists depicted the "commonplace, gritty, and unglamorous realities of city life." They were led by painters such as John Sloan, Robert Henri, George Bellows, and George Luks (Worsley, p. 3).

During the Depression, painters working in the social realism genre communicated "sociopolitical commentary," Worsley writes. Joblessness, political corruption, and grim poverty were themes embraced by artists like Ben Shahn, Philip Evergood, Charles White, Jack Levine, and William Gropper. All of these artists were employed at one time by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

The Federal Art Project and New Deal Art

The Federal Art Project (FAP) was one of the New Deal programs that helped put people to work. It ran from 1935 to 1943, according to the Illinois State Museum (ISM). Many people who had lost their jobs but possessed artistic talent were given an opportunity to earn income. "It was the largest and most long-lived of all the New Deal visual arts programs," and the FAP did not dictate to artists what style they must use or what themes they must address. Nevertheless, the overriding reality of the Great Depression meant that many artists drew on that theme, incorporating poignant expressions and a general tone of pathos into their work.

A painted plaster sculpture 48 inches tall — depicting a man and woman, the woman holding a child — is titled Rural Couple with Child and is on display at the ISM. Another work exhibited there is a painting by Joseph Vavak called Give, which shows three men: one with his tin cup extended in his right hand and his left palm open; another playing a violin; and a third leaning on a cane and looking seriously distressed (ISM).

Conclusion

The social realism movement produced some of the most enduring images of human hardship in American history. From the canvases of the Ashcan School to the documentary photographs of Dorothea Lange, these artists gave a face to the suffering of the Great Depression. Supported in part by New Deal programs such as the Federal Art Project, they created a body of work that continues to serve as both historical record and artistic achievement, reminding viewers of the resilience — and vulnerability — of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.

Works Cited

Archives. "Portfolio: Dorothea Lange." Retrieved December 7, 2010, from

Illinois State Museum. "The Federal Art Project (FAP)." Retrieved December 8, 2010, from (2010).

The History Place. "Migrant Farm Families." Retrieved December 8, 2010, from (2010).

Twecht Tripod. "Thomas Hart Benton: Approaching Storm, 1938." Retrieved December 8, 2010, from

Worsley, Peter. "Contemporary Social Realism." Retrieved December 8, 2010, from (2010).

Wu, Corinna. "Nearly 45 years after her death from esophageal cancer, Dorothea Lange's Great Depression photographs remain an inspiration." Collaboration Results. Retrieved December 8, 2010, from (2010).