Untitled (Man, Picking Up Litter) c. 1938

Adrian Troy created this untitled woodcut, depicting a man picking up litter, sometime during his lifetime. The image presents us with both a literal depiction of labor and a symbolic commentary on the social landscape of the time. Notice the discarded newspaper at the man's feet references a "Project News". Perhaps this image comes from the era of the New Deal in the United States, when the Works Progress Administration sought to alleviate unemployment through public works projects. The bold graphic style is consistent with social realism, an aesthetic often associated with both progressive and authoritarian politics in the 1930s and 40s. Further study into the artist's biography, period newspapers, and records from the WPA would shed more light on Troy’s artistic intentions, and allow us to better understand his work in its historical context. Without this contextual information, the meaning of this image remains open to speculation.