Going Home
Concerned with the living conditions Blacks were subjected to in the segregated South during and after the Great Depression, Woodruff produced a series of woodcuts on the subject while working for the WPA in Atlanta. Going Home depicts a row of dilapidated houses leaning precariously on thin, rickety beams. Wooden slats are missing from their walls and roofs, and the swirling storm clouds further emphasize the desperation of the situation. A lone woman, strong of body and well dressed (note her dress, hat, and high-heeled shoes), returns home after work or church. The steps she climbs seem to sag under her weight, but her solid presence seems to indicate her resilience in the face of adversity.
Artwork Details
- Title: Going Home
- Artist: Hale Woodruff (American, Cairo, Illinois 1900–1980 New York)
- Date: 1935
- Medium: Linocut
- Edition: 2/10
- Dimensions: 15 1/8 × 11 1/4 in. (38.4 × 28.6 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Gift of Reba and Dave Williams, 1999
- Object Number: 1999.529.200
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
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