The Builders

James Edmund Allen

1932 · Etching · Drawings and Prints

Allen engaged the contemporary subject of industrial labor using the traditional printmaking technique of etching. Etching can facilitate a powerful chiaroscuro effect through extreme contrasts of light and shadow, which allowed Allen to imbue his prints of construction workers with a sense of theatricality and heroism.

Artist

James Edmund Allen

Date

1932

Medium

Etching

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of James E. Allen Family and Mary Ryan, 1984