The Accident

1939

American, born 1905, Spokane, Washington; died 1986, Seattle, Washington

Following a tragedy in the workplace, two men appear stranded in a rocky landscape, a poignant evocation of the industries, such as logging and mining, that dominated the lives of working-class families in the West during the Great Depression. Scenes of labor were common in the art of this time thanks to government-run relief programs for artists, which favored paintings and public murals that centered the lives of ordinary Americans. Callahan benefited from these programs, and many of his works focused on working-class laborers and the tasks they endured to maintain their livelihoods. The Accident shows the perseverance and strength of these workers, who helped build today’s infrastructure, a pivotal moment in our national history.

Callahan made several trips to Mexico, learning from and working with artists such as Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco. Many of his works were influenced by these artists, whose work he deemed to be of higher human and social significance than the murals then being produced in the Pacific Northwest.

Tempera on canvas

40 x 34 in. (101.6 x 86.4 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

42.41

Photo: Scott Leen

Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySan Francisco, California, San Francisco Museum of Art, one-person exhibition, 1939.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, American Art: The Stories We Carry, Oct. 20, 2022 - ongoing.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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