Lovely close up detail...

Changing mood a bit we go to this moment from a day in a seamstresses life. She might not have known that morning that an artist would want to be capturing her. Her sewing machine looks like the old Singer I have. Her skirt looks like many of the ones I wear. (And I've spent many of my years sewing! I never used the dress forms, though.)

Raphael Soyer depicted "the everyday moments in the lives of ordinary Americans. Growing up and studying art in New York, Soyer captured people in urban settings of the city such as office buildings, streets, and subways." He also worked "briefly for the WPA's Federal Arts Project (FAP) in the 1930s" where he "continued his documentation of the middle and lower classes." (From the info card)

Seamstress I Raphael Soyer (American, b. Russia, 1899-1987) Color Lithograph, 250/300 Gift of Sarah Schuster, Tucson Museum of Art #1996.151 Detail of the tired seamstress...

"Soyer was adamant in his belief in representational art and strongly opposed the dominant force of abstract art during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Defending his position, he stated: "I choose to be a realist and a humanist in art." He was an artist of the Great Depression, and during the 1930s, Raphael and his brother Moses engaged in Social Realism, demonstrating empathy with the struggles of the working class." (Wikipedia)

Soyer wouldn't have likely liked Lipchitz' statue of the harlequin, but he had other things in common with Lipchitz, such as immigrating to America:

Harlequin with Clarinet (Arlequin à la Clarinette) Jacques Lipchitz, (American, b. Chaim Jacob Lipchitz, Lithuania, 1891-1973) Limestone, 1919-1920 Kasser Mochary Collection, "The Figure Examined", at Tucson Museum of Art A confession: I've edited this photo to correct for a terrible reflective problem. Here is the straight from the camera shot: What is that horrid reflection? I can recognize a very colorful painting that was near the statue. I'd shared "Chez Bellany" back in 2015. I did, however, leave in the reflection of the photographer's HAT, The exhibition featured another colorful painting by Bellany, featuring a lady in a very elaborate feathered hat: Bird of Paradise, 1985 John Bellany (Scottish, 1942-2013 ) Oil on canvas Kasser Mochary Collection, "The Figure Examined", at Tucson Museum of Art Bellany would have had an easier time painting me and my rather unexotic hat! All photos are by Joan Ann Lansberry, ©2015-2019 Who is pictured here in 2006 with said hat: