The Yacht Race

1935[-]40

Imagine a boat race where the captains are industrial tycoons and the boats are floating factories—that's the chaotic world of Fred Becker’s 'The Yacht Race.' Created during the Great Depression for the WPA Federal Art Project, this woodcut satirizes American capitalism with a grinning top-hatted figure steering one ship while a giant archer stands atop a factory labeled 'Plastic Braids' on the other. It’s a busy, cartoonish critique of the 'rat race,' proving that even in the 1930s, the competition was fierce and a little bit absurd.

Technique: woodcut

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