Women Lumberjacks at Pityoulish Lumber Camp 1941

Ethel Léontine Gabain made this print, likely sometime in the early to mid-twentieth century, using lithography, a process which involves drawing with a greasy crayon onto a stone or metal plate and then using ink to make impressions. Here, the rough-hewn quality of the wood that the women are carrying is mirrored in the stark, almost brutal, marks that Gabain has used to make the print. The starkness of the image emphasizes the labor involved, not just in the work itself but in the way that she has chosen to depict this very raw human activity. It would have been relatively easy for her to make this image more polished, but instead, Gabain has opted to show the physical effort of these workers. This elevates the status of the women. The process of printmaking and the image it captures, highlights the social context of labor and the importance of recognizing it in art.