“Firewood #55” is an artwork created by Jacob Lawrence in 1942, belonging to the Expressionism and Social Realism art movements and categorized under the genre of genre painting.
The artwork presents a scene of everyday life, encapsulating the essence of Social Realism through its depiction of a person diligently collecting firewood. The setting appears to be a modest rural or semi-rural environment. Three simple structures, presumably houses or sheds, dominate the background against a deep blue sky scattered with clouds. The structures, rendered in dark colors with stark lines, evoke a sense of simplicity and functionality. In the foreground, a figure cloaked in red is engaged in the task of gathering scattered pieces of firewood. The artist’s use of bold colors and defined lines highlights the stark contrasts in the scene, emphasizing the labor and historical context of the period portrayed.
