Coal Dock Workers c. 1933 - 1969

Walker Evans made this gelatin silver print, "Coal Dock Workers," in 1932. It’s a group portrait of men, their faces and clothes smeared with coal dust. I wonder what it was like for Evans to take this photograph, to approach these workers and ask them to pose? The picture feels very frontal, very direct, the men staring right at the viewer. The monochrome flattens the image, emphasizing the textures of skin and fabric. The uniformity of the coal dust becomes a kind of mask, obscuring individuality while also highlighting the shared experience and the physical toll of their labor. Evans' work has always felt connected to the social realist paintings of the time, but also anticipates the conceptual photography of the later 20th century. Like all great art, it invites us to consider not just what we see, but how we see, and why. It’s like he is asking the question: How do we look at these people, these workers, and what do we see when we look?