A Night Scene. The Cable Entangled and Nearly Broken, July 18th, 1866 1865 - 1866

Robert Charles Dudley made this watercolor titled, 'A Night Scene. The Cable Entangled and Nearly Broken, July 18th, 1866.' Dudley was commissioned to record the laying of the 1866 transatlantic telegraph cable that would transform global communications. He uses subdued tones to capture a moment of intense labor under challenging conditions. The date in the title tells us this piece is documenting a specific moment in history. We see a crew of men working on deck at night, their bodies straining as they grapple with a heavy cable. In this era the working class was often invisible. Dudley emphasizes the physical labor involved, creating a sense of empathy for the workers. Consider how class is embodied in the strenuous, collective work depicted. Dudley’s choice to focus on labor and near disaster opens up a space to consider the human cost of progress. While technology advances, the picture invites us to consider the labor, and the dangers faced by those who built these new technologies.