A Favorite Painting 35

William Gropper, The Senate 1935

Some subjects are truly timeless. Is there any reason at all to think that the scene in the Senate chambers today was any different than when Gropper painted this almost 75 years ago? You've got the pontificating blowhard, his disinterested colleagues and a whole bunch of empty seats (abandoned perhaps for meetings with lobbyists in the cloakroom?). I really like when artists engage with larger political or social issues, and feel they often exhibit keener insight in stripping away the illusions promoted by conventional commentators (and of course the politicians and activists themselves). Does that mean they are always right in their critiques? No. But I bet their track record is better than most of the pundits who are paid to offer commentary on such matters in more mainstream venues. And, in an image like Gropper's, the point is made pretty explicit in the most straightforward way, continuing a tradition that went back at least to Thomas Nast of artists calling out our supposed leaders on their hypocrisy.