Breadwinner (War) — John Wilson. 1942.
Medium: Lithographic crayon, with scraping and smudging, on cream wove paper. Dimensions: 64 × 48.3 cm (25 1/4 × 19 1/16 in.).
Collection record: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.
The drawing Breadwinner depicts an African American worker relaxing on a park bench during his break. The man wears a hat typical of a factory laborer. In spite of his ordinary appearance, the man’s posture is strong and relaxed, and he wears a sport coat over his work clothes—a symbol of pride for men during the Depression. On his lap is a newspaper with the discernable headline “WAR.” John Wilson made this drawing in 1942, probably soon after the United States declared war on the Axis powers.
Description: © Art Institute of Chicago, original record, CC BY 4.0. HTML formatting removed; wording retained. Other artwork metadata: CC0.
Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.
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