The People Work - Night
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
lithograph in black
Classification
Portfolio
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.7989
Art Historical Context
**The People Work - Night** (1937) is a compelling black lithograph by American artist Benton Murdoch Spruance housed in the National Gallery Art's Rosenwald Collection. Part of a classified portfolio (Department: CG-W), print vividly portrays the nocturnal labors of everyday workers, evoking the and endurance of the working class during the Great Depression. Spruance, a Philadelphia-based printmaker renowned for his social realist style, mastered lithography—a planographic technique that transfers greasy crayon or ink drawings from stone or metal plates to paper. This medium's ability to pro...
About the Artist
Benton Murdoch Spruance
Benton Murdoch Spruance (1904–1967) was a Philadelphia native whose artistic journey began amid the city's architectural landscape. Born on June 25, 1904, he initially worked as a clerk in an architect's office while studying architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught himself graphic sketching. A scholarship brought him to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), foll...