Trace the transformation of the modern workplace in the 20th century in an adjoining installation. Works on paper highlight how jobs and the American workforce changed with advances in technology, migration, and major events like World War II. Artists represent the fast pace of assembly lines and illuminate industrial working conditions. Others depict the often-overlooked jobs of street vendors, musicians, and barbers.
Explore selected works
Reflection
Hughie Lee-Smith
1957
Hughie Lee-Smith, Reflection, 1957, oil on particle board, Corcoran Collection (The Evans-Tibbs Collection, Gift of Thurlow Evans Tibbs, Jr.), 2015.19.207
Stuart Davis, Study for "Swing Landscape", 1937-1938, oil on canvas, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase and exchange through a gift given in memory of Edith Gregor Halpert by the Halpert Foundation and the William A. Clark Fund), 2014.79.15
Walker Evans, Barber Shop, New Orleans, 1936, gelatin silver print, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harry H. Lunn, Jr. in honor of Jacob Kainen and in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, 1989.89.7