The Miner

Artist Philip Evergood (American, 1901-1973)

Date1927

Mediumetching

Dimensionsmat: 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)
sheet: 16 × 11 3/8 in. (40.6 × 28.9 cm)
image: 7 3/8 × 6 1/2 in. (18.7 × 16.5 cm)

Credit LineDirector's Fund

Exhibition History"At Work and Play," KIA Long Gallery (Apr. 1 - July 22, 2005). Label TextInterested in working-class life and economic inequality in the United States, painter and muralist Philip Evergood developed a socially engaged practice. Affiliated with the broader Social Realist movement, Evergood’s work often depicted labor and the rapid modernization of industry. In The Miner, Evergood presents an exaggerated yet human rendering of a smoking laborer emerging from work, pick resting over his shoulder, with his face and uniform revealing the physical demands of mining. This expressive portrait emphasizes the endurance and strain experienced by workers like the one pictured here. Although created in 1927, the painting reflects growing public awareness of labor conditions in the American mining industry, including widespread strikes over wages and working conditions in the early twentieth century. Like other artists of the era, Evergood’s imagery aligns with broader artistic efforts to represent working-class experiences and draw attention to economic disparities amid industrial expansion across the United States. [Label Text: For the People: America at 250 Exhibition, June 27 - October 4, 2026]

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