Artist and Worker: The Labour of David Smith.

This article considers David Smith's presentation of himself as both artist and worker. It does so in the context of his political beliefs and his participation in New York's modernist circles, especially in the 1930s and 19%. As an artist and committed leftist, Smith aligned himself with workers through affiliations with like-minded colleagues in the 1930s — via personal associations, group membership, and dated activities. But Smith's periods of employment as a metal worker in heavy industry, in the 1920s and again in the 1940s, legitimized his status as a worker. Documents from various stages of his career indicate that he saw his relationship with assistants as an extension of these experiences, even when the product was art. He also suggested further continuities between his life as a labourer and as an artist through the similar materials and techniques he employed in each of these roles. While acknowledging the gap between artist and worker, he regularly negotiated these boundaries to the extent that was possible, seeking an accommodation comment with his political views. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]