Francis S. Merritt
American, 1913 - 2000Labor Truce, 1940
Not on view
Lithograph on paper
Dimensions12 5/8 × 9 9/16 in. (32.1 × 24.3 cm)
Image: 11 5/8 × 8 1/2 in. (29.5 × 21.6 cm)
Gift of Mr. Jack B. Pierson in memory of Mr. Robert Martin Purcell, 1992.21
Labor Truce is an early work by Francis S. Merritt, depicting two burly, iconic figures set within a somewhat abstracted walled enclosure. The emotional tone of Merritt’s image is distinct from the turmoil that characterized many images of labor struggles during the 1930s. Labor Truce, from 1940, reflects in its figures’ conciliatory gestures, a more harmonious relationship between labor and management.
Born in Danvers, Massachusetts, Merritt studied at several art institutions, including the Massachusetts School of Art and the Yale University School of Fine Arts. Between 1946 and 1947, Merritt was an instructor at the Kingswood School at Cranbrook Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. In September of 1947, Merritt was appointed Director of the Flint Institute of Arts, a position he held until 1951.
