Two figures with Paint brush [?] c. 20th century

Editor: Here we have "Two figures with Paint brush [?]" by Harry Sternberg, currently residing at the Harvard Art Museums. It looks like a woodcut or linocut. I’m struck by the contrast between the figures and the industrial setting. What can you tell me about its historical context? Curator: Considering Sternberg's background and the imagery, this likely engages with the Social Realist movement, which used art to depict and critique social and economic realities. The figures' relationship to the industrial backdrop invites questions about labor and power dynamics. What do you notice about their poses? Editor: The figures seem superimposed, almost disconnected from the worker on the tower. It makes me wonder about the message Sternberg was trying to convey about labor and society. Curator: Precisely. Sternberg's prints often explored these tensions, inviting viewers to consider the human cost of industrial progress. I now better understand the political intention of this work.