Men at the Mission, 1935

A study in pencil for Men at the Mission is in a private collection.  Related works include one of Soyer’s best-known black and white prints, titled The Mission and another graphite drawing c. 1933, How Long Since You Wrote to Mother? also bears a close resemblance to Men at the Mission.

Painted in the midst of the United States’ Great Depression, Men at the Mission is an outstanding example of Soyer’s ability to capture a mood.  Soyer focuses on the two figures at right by casting a somber light upon them, and rendering the other men with less definition. The physical features of the men at right are a study in contrast.  The half-collapsed face of the older man, with his sad eyes, the deep furrows of his forehead and his shrunken posture are made all the more melancholy by the younger man beside him, with his strong jaw and assertive posture.  And yet the somber tone of destitution is suffused throughout the painting.  The artist uses a palette of varying browns to sustain the mood, and he places at the center the painting the paltry meal for these men:  three slices of bread.  The young man’s eyes convey despair as well, yet they also suggest a sense of hunger, perhaps even ambition.  By concentrating on these two men, one young and one old, Soyer effectively communicates the devastating breadth of the Depression.