William H. Johnson, born Florence, SC 1901-died Central Islip, NY 1970 Search this
Medium:
oil on plywood
Dimensions:
45 3/4 x 38 1/2 in. (116.2 x 97.7 cm.)
Type:
Painting
Date:
ca. 1939
Luce Center Label:
In this painting, enormous hands hold scythes, pickaxes, and shovels, symbolizing the brutal work of the chain gang. Johnson may have seen men like this when he was a child in South Carolina, but he might also have chosen this subject while working for the Works Progress Administration, where archivists worked to preserve the stories and songs of the gangs.