Lockout

Artist: Herman Volz, American (born Switzerland), 1904–1990
Associated: Federal Works Agency, Work Projects Administration, Washington, D.C., active 1935–1943
Date: 1937
Material: Crayon lithograph
made in: San Francisco, California, United States, North and Central America
Classification: Prints
Collection: Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
Current Location: Not on view
Dimensions: image: 10 3/8 × 15 1/4 in. (26.4 × 38.8 cm)
sheet: 12 3/8 × 17 11/16 in. (31.5 × 45 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of the Federal Works Agency, Work Projects Administration
Rights: Public Domain
Object Number: 272:1943

NOTES

Amid rows of neatly arrayed faceless heads and ears, the small detail of two clenched fists suggests the force present in this assembly. A tree’s natural form contrasts with the industrial operations beyond the wall, out of view and inaccessible to the workers. The title of this lithograph refers to a tactic frequently used by management during strikes and labor disputes in the 1930s. Herman Volz himself actively organized artists to consider their own work as labor through the San Francisco Artists Union.

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