Beale Street Blues
1935[-]40
![Beale Street Blues by Fred Becker, 1935[-]40](https://www.thequadro.com/api/storage/artworks/thumb/l/fred-becker/fred-becker_beale-street-blues_f7e9aca5)
Fred Becker captures the raw, exhausted soul of the blues in this striking wood engraving from the Great Depression era. We see a barefoot trumpet player, still in his long underwear and hat, stomping and playing in a messy bedroom complete with a bottle of gin on the floor. Created for the Federal Art Project, this piece perfectly illustrates the gritty reality of American life in the 1930s, far away from glamorous jazz clubs. The intricate cross-hatching on the wallpaper and rug adds a claustrophobic, intense feeling to the scene.
- Technique
- wood engraving