The Bruce & Barbara Feldacker Labor Art Collection

Assembled by St. Louis labor lawyer Bruce Feldacker, the collection consists of over five hundred paintings, prints, drawings and sculpture on the theme of labor and the role of the laborer in America. While focusing on this subject as the primary guide for acquisition decisions, Bruce also gave weight to local and regional artists in selecting works. As a result, the collection has a remarkable breadth of style as well as a chronological depth, both of which contribute to its strength as a teaching tool in the areas of American art and American labor history. A significant number of works are on permanent display at all times, and tours are available upon request. The art collection is supported by an extensive reference library of scholarly publications on artists in the collection, labor art themes, and related exhibition catalogues. Books in the reference library are listed online and can be accessed through the Library’s reference room or by contacting the curator.
St. Louis Mercantile Library Art Museum
Building Service Group
Wood block print showing group of employees, some with tools of their trade.
Cement Work
Watercolor painting showing construction worker preparring concrete with façade of Saint Louis Art Museum in background.
End of Shift
Oil painting showing a man accompanied by a child walking on a sidewalk with factory and busy street in the background.
For All These Rights We've Just Begun to Fight
Lithograph showing man with agitated expression and upraised fist surrounded by banners; created for the CIO in 1946 urging union members to vote.
Hattie Baking Biscuits
Acrylic painting showing a woman in a commercial kitchen leaning over a counter that holds biscuit dough and a rolling pin.
Images of Work
Photograph of male worker leaning againt building near a sign stating "Danger Employees Only".
Joe Hill
Oil painting showing labor organizer and singer Joe Hill in shackles with a crowd and banner behind him.
Mississippi Lime Quarry, Ste. Genevieve
Lithograph showing a Mississippi lime quarry with one worker in foreground.
Steel Worker
Painting showing steel worker pouring molten metal from a crucible. Items made from metal are also shown falling from the mouth of the crucible.
Support Affordable Housing Picketing
Pencil drawing of workers from various unions walking and holding signs.
The Marble Quarry
Oil painting showing workers in a marble quarry with cart, hoist, and various tools.
Work Crew, Busch Stadium Garage
Watercolor painting showing construction workers in foreground with the first Busch Stadium and the Gateway Arch in the background.

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