Charles White is recognized for the richness of his graphic work and his paintings, which typically depict aspects of the history, culture, and life of African Americans. A native of Chicago, White attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Art Students League in New York, and later in Mexico at the Taller de gráfica popular (The People’s Graphic Workshop), with Elizabeth Catlett (see no. 18), to whom he was married at the time. Beginning in 1939, he was employed by the Illinois Art Project of the federal Works Progress Administration. Afforded the time, materials, and artistic freedom to work as he chose, White gained widespread recognition.

White, whose father was a railroad and steel worker and mother a domestic worker, had a deep respect for labor. Harvest Talk, one of six charcoal and carbon pencil drawings originally exhibited at the ACA Gallery in New York in 1953, exemplifies the artist’s mature drawing style.

Here his strong, assured manner, coupled with the heroic proportions of the figures and the emphasis on the large scythe, evokes the indomitability of his subjects in the face of hard work. The presence of the scythe (an emblem often associated with the Soviet Union), as well as the social realist sensibilities that prevail throughout White’s oeuvre, his travels to the U.S.S.R. (where he exchanged ideas with Russian artists), and his writings for and affiliation with left-wing publications (such as Masses & Mainstream, Freedomways, and the Daily Worker) suggest that Harvest Talk was inspired by socialist ideals. Like many of White’s works on paper, Harvest Talk conveys the power of a mural, despite its relatively small format. (ADB)