Filling the Icehouse 1933

Harry Gottlieb created this lithograph, *Filling the Icehouse*, using a printmaking process rooted in labor-intensive craft. The medium itself, with its stark contrasts and emphasis on line, reflects the industrial subject matter. Gottlieb would have drawn his composition on a flat slab of limestone with a greasy crayon, then chemically fixing the image before printing. This method, while allowing for multiples, still required considerable skill. See how the material and technique emphasize the back-breaking work of the laborers. The scene depicts men using long poles to push blocks of ice along elevated tracks. The repetitive, physically demanding nature of their work is evident in the composition’s emphasis on repeated shapes, and the implied weight of the ice blocks. This is not a glamorous scene, but a slice of everyday life rendered through a process that honors both artistic skill and the realities of labor. It reminds us that art doesn't have to be about precious materials to have profound meaning.