Bootleg Mining 1937

Harry Gottlieb’s lithograph “Bootleg Mining” shows how he worked the crayon to build the scene. I wonder what he was thinking about as he constructed this image. It’s like a dance of marks, hatching, and cross-hatching. Gottlieb worked to show the weight and heft of the miners and machinery with light and shadow. He seems to have thought about the act of labour, constructing an image that is dynamic and strong. The composition leads your eye around the image to each of the workers. The tools and structures are simplified, like stage props. The workers are the players, enacting their roles. It makes you think about other artists, like Kathe Kollwitz, who were interested in representing the lives of workers. Gottlieb has documented a tough job and made it look heroic.