Urban Poverty

Employment Agency

by Moses Soyer

Soyer’s painting conveys the hopelessness experienced by many of the nation’s poor during the years of the Great Depression. 

His scene shows a middle-aged man hesitantly stepping into an employment agency, a newspaper (presumably the want ads) stuffed into his coat pocket.  The loose threads on the bottom of his coat and the bags under his eyes emphasize the futility of his search.