Hitch Team 1916

George Luks made this oil on canvas painting called Hitch Team. The work offers a window into the industrial era through the lens of everyday life. Luks, as a member of the Ashcan School, was pivotal in depicting New York's working class. Often these works focused on themes of poverty, immigration, and the gritty reality of urban existence. Consider how Hitch Team departs from traditional representations by focusing not on people but on laboring animals. What does it say about the value of labor, and the dignity, or lack thereof, afforded to these animals? It is an emotionally and experientially charged artwork that invites us to consider our relationship with the non-human world. The painting is a glimpse into the lives of those whose labor often goes unseen.