Samuel Gompers

Moses Wainer Dykaar, Samuel Gompers, 1924, plaster, 22 1422 1812 14 in. (56.456.231.1 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1932.12.2
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Artwork Details

Title
Samuel Gompers
Date
1924
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
22 1422 1812 14 in. (56.456.231.1 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the artist
Mediums
Mediums Description
plaster
Classifications
Subjects
  • Portrait male — Gompers, Samuel — bust
Object Number
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.

Works by this artist (6 items)

Julia Eckel, Roseate Spoonbills, n.d., pastel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from D.C. Public Library, 1967.72.85
Roseate Spoonbills
Daten.d.
pastel
Not on view
Julia Eckel, Band Concert, ca. 1933-1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.81
Band Concert
Dateca. 1933-1934
oil on canvas
Not on view
Julia Eckel, Street Service, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.98
Street Service
Date1934
oil on canvas
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled, 1982, oil stick and waxed crayon on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Sam Rose and Julie Walters, 2018.16
Untitled
Date1982
oil stick and waxed crayon on paper
Not on view
Jeff Donaldson, Victory in Zimbabwe, 1980, mixed media on cardboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum Purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2019.1, © 2018, Estate of Jeff Donaldson
Victory in Zimbabwe
Date1980
mixed media on cardboard
Not on view
"Prophet" Royal Robertson, Space Gun Drawing, n.d., pencil, marker, paint on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1998.84.30
Space Gun Drawing
Daten.d.
pencil, marker, paint on paper
Not on view
Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Rorschach drawing), n.d., drawing, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, 1991.155.408
Untitled (Rorschach drawing)
Daten.d.
drawing
Not on view