Sharecropper's Cabin
Artist/Culture
Gregorio Prestopino
(American, 1907–1994)
Date20th century
Mediumindia ink applied with pen and brush on off-white wove paper
Dimensions51.2 x 66.3 cm (20 3/16 x 26 1/8 in.)
ClassificationsDrawings
Credit LineGift of Helen Sagoff Slosberg
Object number1969.15
Label TextThe sparse lines of Prestopino’s sharecropping cabin reveal the grim situation of the family depicted. In sharecropping, a landowner allows other tenants to perform labor on his farm for a share of the crop. This system was popular in the American south after the abolition of slavery. Legally “free,” sharecropping tenants were often subject to terms and restrictions similar to those of slave-labor plantations.
As the son of Italian immigrants, Prestopino grew up among tenements and empathized with the plight of the working class. Although the drawing is stark and has no extraneous detail, the downturned head and thoughtful pose of the young sharecropping tenant suggests a sense of vulnerability.
ProvenanceMrs. Helen Sagoff Slosberg, Boston, MAOn View
Not on view
