Portraying Struggle Through Art
Clare Leighton created this work, "Breadline," by engraving on wood to make a paper print. It has since been digitzed and revered as a work of the Social Realism movement: an art movement that sought to depict the actual struggles experienced during the 1930's in the face of economic devastation.
Leighton shares through this work the sad reality of a line of people hoping for bread, unable to afford food while their city grows. An elevated railway passes overhead, giant skyscrapers loom in the background; this city is becoming more urbanized and advanced while it's citizens cannot be fed.
Leighton's contribution to the movement reflected only a portion of a greater sentiment shared by contemporary artists at the time. People felt ignored and discarded, that they weren't recieving help in a time where so many were struggling financially. Social realism art works sought to offer commentary and bring attention to these struggles, in hopes of inspiring action and change to remedy them.