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A man and a woman are peering at a newspaper. The woman stands behind the seated man as she softly holds his shoulder; by comparison, he grips the newspaper tightly. The print is a high-contrast black-and-white charcoal portrait that uses value and shading to create naturalistic shapes. Anchel creates texture in his piece by changing the direction and pattern of his lines—for example, modeling the shape of a shoulder. The newspaper is extremely bright and stands in star stark contrast to most of the print, making the man appear gloomier and darker. The source of the light could have been coming from a dim floor lamp based on its shadow.  We can infer that Anchel sought to convey intense emotion and deep concern from what is learned in the daily newspaper, probably a common experience during the Great Depression: it was a time when people truly never knew what was coming next.  Another thing to notice is the expression on the couple’s faces, and the way the man’s eyebrows curl in disbelief with a slight frown. The woman also seems distressed, yet calmer, offering support to the man with a kind, soft hand on his shoulder, firm yet comforting. She may be looking at him instead of the page. This body language can be seen as a nod to how women were expected to stay calm and offer emotional support to men, regardless of their own anxieties. Anchel’s print was extremely emotional for its time, acknowledging fears beneath New Deal optimism.

Anchel Harold Rosenberg was born in 1912 on the lower east side of Manhattan, New York City. He was artistic from a young age, creating many pieces for his mother as a teenager before attending the National Academy of Design, 1930-32. Anchel joined the innovative New Dance Group in 1932, founded by six Jewish women whose motto became “Dance is a Weapon of the Class Struggle.” He performed in pieces with titles like On the Barricade and Hunger. Anchel joined the WPA in 1937, forced to drop his last name and switch the others since only two family members could apply: thereafter, he was Harold Anchel. He joined as one of the youngest employees at the FAP’s Graphic Arts Division, developing a dramatically composed, high-contrast style for depicting ordinary people in works like “Cafeteria”, “City Playground” and “Summer Afternoon.” His background in dance made him especially sensitive to the power of physical gesture. Anchel also executed at least one work for the FAP’s Index of American Design, entitled “Hitching Post.”

In 1943, Anchel was drafted for the Second World War, assigned to paint insignias on buildings and planes. He was later relocated to Walterboro, SC where he utilized puppets to teach camouflage techniques. After WWII his style transformed from stark, black-and-white lithographs to abstract paintings. Anchel’s works were exhibited in the Miami Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art and the Riverside Museum in New York throughout the 1960’s. Anchel passed in 1980. 63 works at GSA Fine Arts Collection. 17 works at Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2 works at Smithsonian American Art Museum. 6 images at FAP.

Works Consulted: “Also Anchel Abstracts: Neijna Sculpture Exhibit Opening” Miami Herald 8 Nov. 1959: 121. A special thank you to David Anchel for his website The Art of Harold Anchel.