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In this painting Drucker presents a migrant family newly arrived in England, seeking work. Despite forming the main focus of the composition, the family is excluded from and oblivious to the lively activities taking place behind it. The presence of a barrow boy, a conspicuous local character, locates the work in the East End – home to successive waves of immigrants. This single family unit is emblematic of the vast wave of Eastern-European Jews escaping persecution and financial hardship who fled to the UK before, during and after the Second World War. However, the date of the painting also suggests that they are economic migrants, victims of the 1930s ‘slump’. The title invokes the biblical story in which a man refuses to part with his earthly riches in exchange for spiritual enlightenment.
Title
For He Had Great Possessions
Date
1932
Medium
oil on canvas on board
Measurements
H 50.5 x W 61.2 cm
Accession number
1987-76
Acquisition method
gift from Dr Geoffrey Konstam, 1952
Work type
Painting
Inscription description
Amy Drucker 1933/2?