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Urban Poverty

Jobless Man

by Francis Chapin

Chapin, an Ohio native, was trained at the Art Institute of Chicago where he became an instructor in lithography. He spent most of his life in Chicago.  His skills as a printmaker are evident in this depiction of an unemployed man killing time over a cup of coffee at a lunch counter, a scene he no doubt witnessed often in Chicago.

Why do you think Chapin utilized such a rough texture in his print?

Learn more about this artist:

Artist Biography

Lesson Plans

Francis Chapin - Jobless Man
Jobless Man - Francis Chapin. 1938 Lithograph, 12 x 8 in.

Museum Purchase, Derby Fund, from the Philip J. and Suzanne Schiller Collection of American Social Commentary Art 1930-1970

Other Artwork Dealing With Urban Poverty...
Ida Abelman Francis Chapin Phillip Evergood George Gilbert Irwin Hoffman
Morris Huberland Morris Huberland Elizabeth Olds Moses Soyer Raphael Soyer

Rural Poverty Urban Poverty Anti-Poverty Efforts Fall Short Labor Disputes
Ida Abelman
Thomas Hart Benton
Lucienne Bloch
Harry Brodsky
Paul Cadmus
Francis Chapin
Jack Delano
Phillip Evergood
George Gilbert
Hugo Gellert
Joseph Hirsch
Irwin Hoffman
Morris Huberland
Merritt Mauzey
Elizabeth Olds
Walter Quirt
Moses Soyer
Raphael Soyer
Lynd Ward


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