Samuel Gompers

Copied Moses Wainer Dykaar, Samuel Gompers, 1924, plaster, 22 1⁄4 x 22 1⁄8 x 12 1⁄4 in. (56.4 x 56.2 x 31.1 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1932.12.2
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Samuel Gompers
Artist
Date
1924
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
22 1⁄4 x 22 1⁄8 x 12 1⁄4 in. (56.4 x 56.2 x 31.1 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the artist
Mediums
Mediums Description
plaster
Classifications
Keywords
  • Portrait male — Gompers, Samuel — bust
Object Number
1932.12.2
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1932.12.2

Artwork Description

Samuel Gompers was the founder and first president of the American Federation of Labor. Born in England in 1850, he moved to the United States when he was thirteen and worked as a cigar maker. He was involved with the labor movement as a youth and saw the need for a national association of unions. Under his leadership, the AFL set a limit on child labor, ensured fixed hours for the working day, and established Labor Day as the workingman’s holiday. In 1925, Moses Dykaar presented the marble version of this bust to the AFL on behalf of the Cloth Cap and Fur Workers unions.