The artwork titled “Near Westley, California, 1938” was created by Dorothea Lange in 1965. This photograph, which falls under the Social Realism art movement, poignantly captures a moment in time representative of its genre.
The artwork portrays a group of farm laborers standing in a line, each person holding or standing next to baskets filled with what appears to be string beans or some other harvested crop. The individuals are dressed in work clothes, indicative of the demanding labor they undertake. Their expressions and postures, ranging from exhausted to pensive, reflect the challenging circumstances of their work and lives. The field stretching out before them is vast, dotted with other laborers bent over as they continue the backbreaking work of gathering crops. The dry, cracked earth further emphasizes the harsh conditions in which these individuals toil. This powerful image provides a window into the struggles and resilience of agricultural workers in 1938, embodying the essence of Social Realism through its stark depiction of everyday life and labor.
