Coal Pickers (1939)

Dated 1939, "Coal Pickers" is an artwork by David Burke. Context for 1939: Posters, magazines, and illustrated books were major ways for the public to meet new art and design. Dada and Surrealism followed the First World War, the Bauhaus school was founded in 1919, and Art Deco became the fashionable decorative style of the 1920s and 1930s. It is listed in the Abstract collection. The image is in landscape orientation. Background on Abstract: Abstract art moves away from depicting recognisable objects and relies on colour, line, shape, and surface instead. Movements of later decades, including Abstract Expressionism and geometric abstraction, carried non-representational ideas into new scales and materials.

Buying "Coal Pickers" means getting a digital file, not a physical print: Digital JPEG + PDF files, 300 DPI, delivered by email once payment is confirmed. A 300 DPI file is intended for printing at home or at a local print shop, where you can choose a matte, satin, or fine-art paper to suit the room. A landscape format suits wide, low wall spaces such as the stretch above a bed, mantel, or sideboard. A simple frame with a mat often helps an image settle comfortably into a room. Screens and printers render colour differently, so a small test print is a sensible way to check tones before committing to a large size. Matte and fine-art papers reduce glare in bright rooms, while glossy papers give stronger contrast and deeper blacks. Hang the print away from direct sunlight, which over the years can fade any printed colour.

American, 1935–1943

If you like the visual language of David Burke, explore more works by the same artist in our collection.