Bread Line 1931

Margaret Lowengrund created 'Bread Line' using lithography to capture a monochrome scene with deep blacks and hazy grays. I can imagine Lowengrund standing in the cold to sketch these figures, thinking about the weight of the Great Depression, the sameness of the hats, the slumped shoulders. The lithographic crayon moves across the stone, building up layers of tone, each pass deepening the mood of despair. I wonder if she knew any of these men? What was it like for her to witness this scene? Lithography is a process that’s all about pressure, and you can almost feel that pressure in the image, the collective weight of these figures pressing forward, waiting, hoping. It reminds me of Käthe Kollwitz, another artist who wasn't afraid to look suffering right in the face. These artists, they teach us that art can be a mirror, reflecting back the hardest parts of ourselves and our history.