Labor Strike, 1939

Artist: Philip Tipperman (American, 1916 -1969)

Oil on canvas board, 16 x 20 inches

Gift of Tipperman Family

The Brooklyn College Library Collection

During the Great Depression (1929-1939) picket lines and worker strikes were a common occurrence in cities across the United States. Rising worker militancy during hard times, strikes, as well as the passage of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 known as the “Wagner Act,” fueled the rise of labor unions. 

In this painting, set in front of an imposing but nondescript factory, picketers evoke empathy with their facial expressions of hope and fear. A man in the foreground holds a strike placard and wears a fedora, which is different from the other workers’ caps. His confident demeanor, and what appears to be a union button on his jacket, suggests that he is a union leader. 

The painting style is in keeping with Social Realism — a movement that flourished between the two World Wars in response to the hardships and social and political turmoil of the time. Social realist artists often portrayed everyday workers as heroic symbols of persistence and strength in the face of adversity.