Waterfront – Brooklyn

Harry Shokler, Waterfront--Brooklyn, ca. 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.121
Copied Harry Shokler, Waterfront--Brooklyn, ca. 1934, oil on canvas, 28 x 40 in. (71.1 x 101.6 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.121

Artwork Details

Title
Waterfront – Brooklyn
Artist
Date
ca. 1934
Location
Dimensions
28 x 40 in. (71.1 x 101.6 cm.)
Credit Line
Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • New Deal — Public Works of Art Project — New York City
  • Cityscape — New York — Manhattan
  • Cityscape — weather — snow
  • Architecture — industry — shipyard
  • Cityscape — wharf
  • Cityscape — river — East River
  • Cityscape — New York — Brooklyn
  • Figure group
Object Number
1964.1.121
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1964.1.121

Artwork Description

This image shows a busy Brooklyn harbor with a view of Manhattan in the distance. Many artists during the 1930s focused on laborers and industrial scenes to emphasize the value of hard work in pulling the country out of the Depression. The smoking chimneys, groups of workers, and tracks in the snow evoke a sense of activity and perseverance in the face of hardship. To Americans in the 1930s, the skyscrapers of New York symbolized the city’s achievements and sustained the hope that the country’s economy would recover.