The artwork titled “Workshop (Builders #1)” was created by the artist Jacob Lawrence in the year 1972. It is part of the Expressionism and Social Realism art movements and represents a genre painting.
The artwork depicts a bustling scene within a workshop where several individuals are engaged in various carpentry tasks. The vivid and bold use of colors, such as deep blues, reds, and yellows, captures the dynamic energy of the workers. Each figure is meticulously portrayed in action, using tools like saws and drills, contributing to the collective effort within the workshop. The background is sparse, drawing attention to the activity and interaction among the characters, thereby emphasizing the social realism of the context. This piece effectively communicates the industrious spirit of the working class, a recurring theme in Jacob Lawrence’s body of work.