The Mill c. 1930s

Lamar Baker created this print, titled ‘The Mill’, using lithography. Born in Georgia, Baker was part of the generation that came of age during the Great Depression. The print merges images of the natural world, specifically cotton plants, with those of industrialization and labor. The looming factory hints at the economic exploitation of workers, especially African Americans in the rural South. The artist uses sharp contrasts to amplify the emotional impact of the subject, emphasizing feelings of unease and perhaps even a sense of foreboding. Baker uses the graphic style of social realism, yet he does not depict labor in a heroic light, but rather reveals the harsh conditions of labor in the cotton industry. This image highlights the complex intersections of race, labor, and industrialization in the American South.