Lifesavers

Ruth Bernhard

1930

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This drawing in pencil on paper is divided into two scenes by a vertical line just right of the center of the sheet. In the scene on the left, figures are quickly sketched in an interior. There is an arched doorway on the back wall, a light squre in the ceiling, and roughly sketched architectural elements defining an interior space. In the scene on the right, a street or alley lined with buildings is quickly sketched. Buildings flank the road to the left and right, receding into space, and a tree is visible at the upper right.
In this circular, black and white print, figures cut blocks of ice from the surface of an ice-covered pond set in a snowy landscape. Two of the male figures closest to the viewer use long saws with teeth to cut the blocks of ice. On the opposite side of the water, another man uses a pole to move the blocks of ice toward the ice house in the background of the print. Three additional figures also move ice closer to the ice house. At the bottom of the print is a still life of implements related to ice cutting.
This print represents an orange central abstract form on a yellow background with four abstract, light green, snake-like components in each corner. It represents abstract but anthropomorphic forms resembling folds of skin, eyes, and a bulbous nose. The image is centered, extending beyond the top and bottom of the plate, with vacant space colored by the plate at its left and right.
Black and white image of African American jazz singer Sarah Vaughan from the waist up. She is wearing a light dress with flowers on it. Her eyes are closed and she gestures with her hands as she sings.