Urban Poverty

Spring

by Philip Evergood

Because he was from a privileged background, Evergood was fortunate to have his lifestyle and education financed by his wealthy family.  He was deeply moved by his first exposure to New York City’s poor. 

During a nighttime walk in the winter, he encountered a group of homeless men, huddled around fires in make-shift shelters.  He was so affected by these men and their plight that he remained with them all night, talking with them and sketching them. 

Spring eventually grew out of these drawings and is a condemnation of the city’s widespread poverty.  The wheelless car symbolizes the near impossibility of social or economic mobility for these men, but Evergood also placed the delicate white flower in the bottom left corner to suggest hope.