A Mule and a Plow - Bernarda Bryson Shahn

A 1936 Social Realist poster by Bernarda Bryson Shahn, commissioned by the Resettlement Administration to promote agricultural recovery during the Great Depression.

This lithograph poster, created by Bernarda Bryson Shahn, dates to the mid-1930s during the Great Depression. It was commissioned by the Resettlement Administration, a New Deal agency tasked with relocating struggling families to planned communities and providing financial assistance to farmers. The work functions as a piece of visual advocacy, intended to communicate the tangible benefits of government intervention in rural American life.

The composition features a farmer in profile, positioned alongside his mule. The man wears a simple hat and a button-down shirt, his expression one of quiet focus. Behind him, the rudimentary structures of a farmstead are rendered with clean, economical lines. The artist employs a muted palette, relying on soft washes of colour to define the forms while maintaining the graphic clarity required for a public information poster. The bold, sans-serif typography at the top and bottom frames the image, directly linking the visual narrative to the specific policy goals of the Resettlement Administration.

Bryson Shahn was an accomplished artist and illustrator who worked alongside her husband, Ben Shahn, on various government-sponsored projects. Her approach here avoids excessive sentimentality, opting instead for a direct, observational style that aligns with the broader objectives of American Social Realism. The work captures a specific moment in economic history, documenting the shift from subsistence farming toward state-supported agricultural recovery. The lines are deliberate and functional, reflecting the utilitarian purpose of the poster while demonstrating the artist's skill in figurative drawing. This print offers a clear view into the graphic design strategies used by federal agencies to build public support for economic reform during a period of national hardship.