Social Realism in Art
Although Social Realism took the American art world by storm following World War I, the social realist art tradition was first seen in France decades before its American expression. Unsurprisingly, both of the European and American art movements were fueled by artists desperately trying to portray the harsh realities they saw every day. By 1870, European artists began depicting the harsh working conditions fueled by the Industrial Revolution and the plight of the working class. Artists often created works with social and political goals in mind, particularly using their work to criticize wealthy elites and monarchies. To these artists, 19th and 20th century social problems were not faceless. By sharing the experience of the individual, the artists of the Social Realism movement invited their viewers to experience the true emotions that accompany exploitation, confusion and reality.
History: Out of Necessity
In the wake of the shared trauma of the Civil War, the romantic works from Impressionists and Transcendentalists no longer satisfied the public. Most Americans faced harsh poverty, pain and trauma on a daily basis and by the mid 20th century, it was finally time for those realities to take center stage on the artistic scene. When a twenty-four year old Stephen Crane published his hallmark novel Red Badge of Courage in 1892, Civil War veterans asked Crane how was able to capture the personal mental anguish of war with such accuracy. In this novel, war is not romanticized. Henry, the “hero” of the novel, confronts his own cowardice and ultimately flees from battle. The men who experienced these war zones refused to believe that Crane, only eight years old during the Civil War, never took part in combat. The immediate popularity of his breakthrough novel marked a significant turn in America’s social and artistic zeitgeist.Shared Experience: Social Realism Across the Globe
France
The Stone Breakers by Gustave Courbet, first displayed at the 1850 Paris Salon, scandalized salon-goers. Romanticism was the dominant style of the time; the movement emphasized beauty and fantastic drama over reality. Most of these early viewers were ill-prepared to see a realistic depiction of the “every man” manual laborer, and Courbet makes his concern for the plight of the poor clear. Here, two figures break and remove stone from a road that is being built for the sake of industrialization and progress. Faceless, their clothing in tatters, Courbet intended his viewers to empathize with these laborers in a revolutionary, universal way. This breakthrough artwork would come to embody the growing European Realism movement, the precursor to Social Realism as it developed during the early 20th century.
Mexico
Pictured below are three figurative works by Mexican artist Diego Rivera, each depicting the everyday routines of working-class Mexican women. These paintings are small but mighty, and portray an unglamorous reality not often seen in the elite art spheres. Rivera is well known for his monumental figurative murals inspired by industrialization, Mexican identity, capitalism and communism. Much like his Social Realism art contemporaries, Rivera consistently criticized political elites, turning the focus to the masses. These remarkable works are representative of the Social Realist movement as it combined the political with aesthetics, and challenged popular decorative art styles of its time.


New York City, USA
Amidst rapid industrialization and the rising density of urban spaces, poor living conditions became the norm for working-class citizens. Several artists in New York City chose to portray the circumstances they witnessed, depicting tenement housing, the seedy underbelly, as well as everyday life in the city. These artists organized as the Ashcan School. One such artist, George Bellows, is well known for his Impressionistic painting style mixed with Realist subject matter. The below work Introducing the Champion represents Bellows’ well-known body of artworks depicting boxing matches in New York. However, in opposition to the dignified, politically-charged way in which Social Realists portrayed working-class figures, the Ashcan School instead presented them as marginal.

American in England
For many men and women who experienced World War II, their memories were clouded with both the beauty and horror of war. Take this watercolor from the “War Sketches” series by Peter Hurd for example. As a War Correspondent, Hurd traveled with the US Air Force to England, Germany, India, and more. This artwork depicts an interior view of an airborne B-17 bomber’s turret. Outside the turret, the English countryside stretches towards the mountains on the horizon, rendered with deep green, brown and yellow hues. The delicate application of paint gives the work an almost dreamlike quality, as if to give the viewer a glimpse into Hurd’s likely convoluted memory.