Employment of Negroes in Agriculture
Earle Richardson
1934
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor
Accession Number
1964.1.183
Tags
African AmericanFigure groupfarmcottonNew York Stateharvesting
About this artwork
Earle Richardson chose to depict fellow African Americans working barefoot in a southern cotton field. These workers are not bent over to pick cotton; the monumental figures stand with a quiet pride that transcends their identity as manual laborers. Their forms take up the foreground, confronting the viewers as equals.