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The Soup Kitchen

Norman Lewis American
ca. 1937
Not on view
From the mid-1930s to mid-1940s, before he turned to abstraction, Lewis made paintings and prints that illustrated the hardships of urban life in the North for African Americans. These works followed the imagery and ideology of the Social Realists, a group of American artists who saw art as a means for social change. Notably, however, Lewis viewed the economic and political issues that confronted all Americans in terms of their particular impact on the Black community. Adopting the narrative, representational style of Social Realism, he produced such poignant pictures as The Soup Kitchen, which draws attention to the hopelessness felt by the legions of unemployed. Anonymous and defeated, these men line up at one of the WPA-sponsored kitchens for a free bowl of soup.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Soup Kitchen
  • Artist: Norman Lewis (American, New York 1909–1979 New York)
  • Date: ca. 1937
  • Medium: Lithograph
  • Dimensions: 21 1/2 × 17 1/2 in. (54.6 × 44.5 cm)
    Image: 15 1/2 × 11 1/8 in. (39.4 × 28.3 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of Reba and Dave Williams, 1999
  • Object Number: 1999.529.118
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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Umbrella, Norman Lewis American, Lithograph
Umbrella
Norman Lewis
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Parade of Figures, Norman Lewis American, Etching
Parade of Figures
Norman Lewis
ca. 1972
Goin' North, Norman Lewis American, Lithograph
Goin' North
Norman Lewis
1942
The Street People, Norman Lewis American, Lithograph
The Street People
Norman Lewis
1935–39
Southern Landscape, Norman Lewis American, Lithograph
Southern Landscape
Norman Lewis
ca. 1939

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