Object ID	N0052.1994
Title	May Day
Artist	Fasanella, Ralph
Object Name	Painting
Early Date	1948
Exhibit label line3	Ralph Fasanella was born in New York City to Italian immigrant parents. He spent his youth helping his father on his ice delivery route, and absorbed the streets, tenements, and people that would later inspire his art. His mother, a literate and socially conscious woman, introduced Fasanella to antifascist and trade union causes. He eventually became a union organizer until he began to paint in 1945. Fasanella was an acclaimed "primitive" painter in the 1940s, and then painted in obscurity for 25 years until his "discovery" in 1972. May Day 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's Union Square. Their large banners proclaim support for organized labor and racial unity under the overarching cause of "Peace, Democracy, Security." At the head of the parade is a magnificent horse-drawn float, complete with May Pole and women in ethnic costumes. The marchers pass a reviewing stand with a backdrop that serves as a shrine to labor heroes. 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 shifts, have the freedom to pursue cultural and recreational activities.
Description	Painting: May Day. Marks: Signed and dated lower right: "1948/R. FASANELLA" in yellow. Many signs overall, in center "UNITED/MAY DAY/ COMMITTEE"
Dimensions	H-52 W-82 inches
Material	Oil on canvas
Place of Origin	New York, NY

Prior written permission is required for any reproduction, redistribution, publication, or other use of the images in any media, including but not limited to, printed or electronic media. Contact the Office of the Registrar, New York State Historical Association, PO Box 800, Cooperstown, NY 13326, (607) 547-1444, to request permission.    
Last modified on: November 04, 2005