Lehigh University
Art Architecture and Design
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Doing Democracy, Emma

Doing Democracy

Harold Haliday Costain (1935) – Seamstress At Work in Factory

Harold Hailday Costain captured the essence of how work was viewed in the great depression. With a huge economic downturn, many women were looking for work to get a source of income. As many in this picture are female, a few men are spotted in the back. This emphasizes the severity of the depression for men to be looking for work in similar positions that women were in. The men are ironing suits which would not be typical of a US man. The factory seems to be sewing suits for men as a rack of them are shown in the bottom right corner. The women seem to be able to talk while they work sitting in chairs which highlights a good environment. They are spread out and seem to each have a jug of water. This looks like an upgrade from what factories looked like in the years prior. Thus, this picture shows the advances the US is taking in order to recover from the great depression.

Harold Haliday Costain, American, 1897 – 1994. Seamstress at Work in Factory. c.1935. Artstor, library.artstor.org/asset/28752086

One thought on “Doing Democracy

  1. Good description. Still, hand sewing for hours while sitting in a hard backed chair would be a strain on anyone. Remember to make your images linkable.

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