Strike 1936

This drawing, by Beatrice Mandelman, really throws me into the gritty scene of urban life. It's just pencil on paper, but it's alive with the energy of a street protest, or maybe just the everyday grind of a city. I imagine Mandelman, sitting somewhere on location maybe, squinting at the scene, pencil scratching across the page. It’s like she's trying to capture not just what she sees, but what she feels— the tension, the weight of the air, the sense of anticipation hanging over everything. I wonder, was she involved in activist movements? There's a real sense of empathy in her lines. The composition, with its diagonal thrust, pulls you right into the scene. The figures are solid, weighty, but the overall effect is light and airy, like a fleeting moment caught on paper. It reminds me a little of some social realist painting, but it's more intimate, more personal. What a great drawing.