Back of the Yards

Mitchell Siporin, Back of the Yards, ca. 1937, pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from General Services Administration, 1971.447.80
Copied Mitchell Siporin, Back of the Yards, ca. 1937, pencil on paper, sheet: 20 5⁄8 x 23 3⁄4 in. (52.4 x 60.3 cm) irregular, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from General Services Administration, 1971.447.80

Artwork Details

Title
Back of the Yards
Artist
Date
ca. 1937
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 20 5⁄8 x 23 3⁄4 in. (52.4 x 60.3 cm) irregular
Credit Line
Transfer from General Services Administration
Mediums
Mediums Description
pencil on paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Polish
  • Figure group
  • New Deal — Works Progress Administration, Federal Art Project — Illinois
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — house
  • Architecture Exterior — industry — storage tank
Object Number
1971.447.80
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1971.447.80

Artwork Description

The yards in this title refer to the Union Stock Yards near a residential neighborhood in Chicago. Siporin’s father was a union organizer, and the artist was especially sensitive to the plight of the homeless and dispossessed during the Great Depression. The mother, father, and child form a compositional unit in the center, while the man in a trench coat is a menacing figure. In the painting based on this drawing, the artist eliminated the man in the coat, focusing the viewer’s attention on the family.

Graphic Masters II: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2009