Raphael Soyer, Office Girls

      It was 1936 and America was still struggling to work its way out of the American Depression when Russian born, American painter, Raphael Soyer (1899-1987) created Office Girls.  Considered a Social Realist, Soyer was one of several painters and photographers documenting the everyday worker, the working class.
    Viewing this painting today, the first thing that "pops" to me is the term in the title:  Girl - a title hopefully now restricted to females under the age of 18.  But in 1936 it was in common use for all females, even those we see here, the women employed by choice or necessity.  Here, are women of New York moving about on the street, coming or going to their offices.  The title hints that most are not in prestigious positions, but possibly secretarial clerks, typists, receptionist.
  All are women, with the exception of one man to the far left.  We see little of him, and only notice he is unshaven and looking not at us, but the clean, well dressed women near him.   But we are there!  The blond woman, who acts as the center of attention is looking right at us.  But it is not a particularly friendly look, as if we are just another pedestrian on the street with her.   She seems dazed, going about her daily routine, while the woman to our right seems more focused, determined while she moves about the city.
  The composition is very interesting.  Here again we see a work almost divided in half, one half dark, the other light.  All faces slide across one rectangle three-fourths of the way to the top, and above them are soft rectangles creating a city setting.  However the bottom half is crazy with triangles! Look closely....from very large to super small are hidden within the painting.   And, yet, it works beautifully.
   Office Girls is an oil on canvas.  It was painted in 1936 measures 26 x 24 and is part of the collection of the Whitney Museum of Art, in New York City.
  Make Art a part of your life, it's a beautiful thing to do.