NOTES
Four men crowd together on a bench in New York City’s Union Square. Two of them slump forward while one dozes from exhaustion or boredom. The men are nearly pushed out of the picture by the wall of commercial buildings behind them. Packed into the right side, they also create an uncomfortable imbalance with the empty space on the left.
The artist, Raphael Soyer, came to New York City in 1912 as one of many Jewish immigrants who fled persecution and violence in Russia. He painted during the Great Depression (1929–1939) and often focused on the hardships of the city’s unemployed and unhoused communities. A statue of George Washington stands in the background of the painting. It looks the other way, suggesting that democracy has also turned its back on the struggles of these men.
