Lamplight

Wanda Gág made her own bent lampshade to produce the dramatic shadows in Lamplight. She loved the honesty of everyday objects and the associations they evoked. For her, this humble setting stood for a simpler, preindustrial time, in contrast to the blackened doorway, which suggests an unknown future. This image was first exhibited in January 1930, just a few months into the Great Depression. It became one of Gág’s most famous prints.