Raphael Soyer (1899-1988)
Casting Office 1945
lithograph, 9 7/8 x 12 7/8, signed; ed. 250
Associated American Artists
UAM 1992.159

Most artists of the 1930s did not depict the rewards of women's work outside of the home, but its drudgery, and nearly always in relation to men. Soyer's Casting Office deftly characterizes the figures: waiting for their call, the dark woman is hopeless while the blond still harbors enough optimism to give herself one last touch-up.