The Builders 1904

"The Builders" is an etching by Donald Shaw MacLaughlan, created in 1904. The image, housed at the Art Institute of Chicago, depicts a horse-drawn cart laden with long wooden beams, likely destined for a construction site. Several figures are present, their detailed forms suggesting a focus on realism and the artist's attention to the working class. The etching's narrow dimensions and oval composition further enhance the sense of intimacy and immediacy, making it a compelling glimpse into the daily life of early 20th-century laborers.