The artwork titled “Cotton Picker, Arkansas,” crafted by Ben Shahn in 1935, is a poignant black-and-white photograph that belongs to the Social Realism movement. This piece exemplifies the genre of documentary photography, showcasing the hardships and realities faced by laborers during the Great Depression.
In the artwork, an elderly African American man is portrayed sitting on what appears to be a wooden porch, gripping a white sack commonly used for gathering cotton. His expression, captured in a candid moment by the photographer, reflects exhaustion and resignation. The man is dressed in simple, worn clothing and a hat, emblematic of the period’s rural working class. The wooden structure on which he sits is weathered and splintered, indicating the impoverished conditions typical of the time. In the background, partially obscured figures stand or walk, adding to the sense of a shared yet individual struggle among the community. This photograph powerfully conveys the harsh realities and dignity of labor amid adversity, a hallmark of the Social Realism art movement.