![John George Brown - The Longshoremen’s Noon [1879]](http://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8134/30198379352_7d8c8555ba_b.jpg)
Poised before a backdrop of plump bales of cotton, these men who labour along shore are depicted on their noontime break in various states of repose. The prominent position of the New York Sun in the centre foreground suggests that the men’s conversation likely concerned current events, perhaps even their own working conditions. In the late 1870s, a period of significant labour unrest, an image of dockworkers assembling to discuss pressing issues of the day might have intimidated American audiences. Yet Brown’s aestheticised treatment of the subject likely diffused any such threat. Critics regularly commented on the “spick and span newness and cleanliness” of his figures, calling those in The Longshoremen’s Noon “preternaturally and decorously fresh.” Ultimately, Brown’s painting is more a study of character and community than an exploration of the often harsh realities of life on the docks.
[Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. - Oil on canvas, 84 x 127.3 cm]
