Fred Dana Marsch, (American, 1872–1961), Construction Workers, crayon with brown wash, 19 ⅛” x 11”, gift of Adolph Posner. 

In a less personal image, these iron workers construct a building taller than those in the background, signifying the ever upward advancement of industry. Though they appear malleable, they also maintain a certain resiliency. Perhaps in reference to their expendability, they are faceless figures focused only on progress.



Lynd Ward, (American, 1905–1985), State of Mind, ca. 1936, wood engraving, 7” x 6”, gift of Gil and Deborah Williams.

A woman from the American Midwest longingly stares at something out of the viewer’s perspective, perhaps lost in deep thought. It is as if she is wishing for a better life than the conditions she is presented with in the Great Depression: a direct result of the boom and bust of industry. She serves as a symbol of how industry and poverty rely on each other to thrive.



Louise Rosskam, (American, 1910–2003), Victory Gardening in the Northwest Section, Washington DC, 1943, gelatin silver print (copy print from Library of Congress), 8” x 10”, purchased with funds from Mr. & Mrs. Morton B. Harris. 

Confident and patriotic, this American woman gardens during the Second World War in order to aid the domestic war effort. Work, here, is portrayed as a direct result of love for her country. A glamorous, youthful person representing industry signals that everyone has a part to play in the development of the nation.



Marion Post Wolcott, (American, 1910–1990), Charleston, West Virginia: Children in the bedroom of their home. Their mother has tuberculosis, their father works on WPA, 1938, gelatin silver print (copy print from Library of Congress), 8” x 10”, purchased with funds from Mr. & Mrs. Morton B. Harris.

Depicted in this image are two children living in squalor at the beginning of the twentieth century. Unclean, and with only cereal boxes as wallpaper, the children represent the unfortunate circumstance that industry is the progenitor of poverty.


The United States’ ascension to the position of a superpower is mainly a result of its rapid industrialization. The American worker is portrayed in popular culture as hardworking, strong, industrious, and patriotic, but underneath our nation’s industrial might lies the backbreaking work of the poor, the weak, and the young. The choice was to work hard or to face destitution under a system that favors business. Though most of us do not work sixteen-hour days or breathe in toxic fumes anymore, the exploitation of labor is still visible and has left a tangible mark on the American psyche, not to mention our environment. Workers are still seen as expendable. Industry also created a stark economic disparity between the very rich and the very poor that remains evident today. Though we are led to believe that our national prosperity is a divine reward for hard work—the “fruits of our labors”—our country’s progress is owed to the men, women, and especially children who toiled away for someone else’s profit. As the saying goes, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”