Painting by Issac Soyer (Chap. 28)

Issac Soyer: Employment Agency (1937)

The people in this painting look very depressed and frustrated. They are all trying to get jobs to supply for their families and for themselves. The expression on each of the faces show that unemployment was a major issue during the 1930's. The man on the left is reading a magazine. He seems to be searching for a job, but looks very frustrated because their may not be many jobs available. The African American woman looks like she is in a daze, but looks distressed. she may be wondering if she can even find a decent job to support herself, and her family (if she has children) During the 1930's racism was very prominent, so their may have been a lot of racial discrimination towards her and other blacks because of their race. The man on the right, who is sitting next to the woman looks as if he is about to give up on everything. He may have felt that their was no home for him to support his family. Issac Soyer worked in the tradition of showing realism in his paintings and concentrated on everyday issues that people faced during that period of time.