Laborer (Stevedore Longshoreman, Norfolk, Virginia), from the project The Negro in Virginia

Robert McNeill, Laborer (Stevedore Longshoreman, Norfolk, Virginia), from the project The Negro in Virginia, 1938, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1993.72.10, © 1938, Robert McNeill
Robert McNeill, Laborer (Stevedore Longshoreman, Norfolk, Virginia), from the project The Negro in Virginia, 1938, gelatin silver print, sheet: 108 18 in. (25.420.6 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1993.72.10, © 1938, Robert McNeill

Artwork Details

Title
Laborer (Stevedore Longshoreman, Norfolk, Virginia), from the project The Negro in Virginia
Date
1938
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 108 18 in. (25.420.6 cm.)
Copyright
© 1938, Robert McNeill
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums Description
gelatin silver print
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — Virginia — Norfolk
  • Occupation — industry — shipping
  • African American
  • Figure male — elderly
Object Number
1993.72.10

Artwork Description

Cropped to focus on a single dockworker, Laborer (Stevedore Longshoreman, Norfolk, Virginia) shows not the labor but the waiting, which sometimes lasted for days because the men were not permitted on the pier until called to work. It is an image of both dignity and resignation. “The look says, ‘what the hell are you doing photographing me,’” remarked McNeill, “and I think it says a lot more.”


African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, 2012

Works by this artist (1036 items)

William H. Johnson, Young Pastry Cook, ca. 1928-1930, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.693
Young Pastry Cook
Dateca. 1928-1930
oil on canvas
On view
William H. Johnson, Portrait of a Man, ca. 1935-1938, oil on burlap, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.814
Portrait of a Man
Dateca. 1935-1938
oil on burlap
On view
William H. Johnson, Breakdown with Flat Tire, ca. 1940-1941, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.587
Breakdown with Flat Tire
Dateca. 1940-1941
oil on plywood
On view
William H. Johnson, For India and China, ca. 1944-1945, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.662
For India and China
Dateca. 1944-1945
oil on paperboard
On view