Raphael Soyer
American, born Russia, 1899 - 1987Study of a Woman and Child, n.d.
Not on view
Ink on paper
Dimensions15 9/16 × 11 3/8 in.
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Keith Davis, 1965.19
Raphael Soyer is associated with the social realist artists of the 1930s, whose art championed the cause of social justice. Soyer is known for his compassionate, naturalistic depictions of urban subjects. The men and women in his works often represented the working class and poor. Although his work was never overtly political he did not glamorize the harsh reality of some of his subjects. This sketch is a figure study that he may have used on a later painting.
Born in Tombov, Russia in 1899, Soyer emigrated with his family to the United States in 1912. After settling in New York City, he studied art at the Art Students League, Cooper Union, and the National Academy of Design.
