“May Day”

This painting represents Fasanella’s attempt to capture the spirit of the workers’ movements of the 1930s, focusing upon the huge May Day parades that annually drew up to 200,000 demonstrators to Union Square in New York City. At the left, marchers pour out of the crowded streets and tenements and descend upon New York Union Square. Their large banners proclaim support for organized labor and racial unity under the overarching causes of peace and democracy and against war and fascism. Across a colorful bed of flowers lies the artist’s utopian vision at the right. It is a place where workers, liberated from the burden of twelve- and sixteen-hour work days, have the freedom to pursue cultural and recreational activities.

Painting by Ralph Fasanella from Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, N.Y., a gift of Ralph and Eva Fasanella.

See the Ralph Fasanella exhibit for more information.