Workers' Tea Break , 1955
78 x 57 cm (h x w)
Oil on paper

© Eva Frankfurther estate

A three-quarter length double portrait of two male Lyons Corner House workers on their break: a chef dressed in traditional white uniform (on the left), and a worker in brown overalls (on the right). The chef is seen in three quarter view, the man on the right, full face, but their heads inclined toward one another and their eyes are fixed on the newspaper, as they study it together. Paint in a palette of browns, ochre and white is applied thinly to the background and with some impasto to the white of the newspaper. The composition is cropped, as is typical in Frankfurther's work, to concentrate on the faces and expressions of her subjects, caught in a rare moment of relaxation. A similar composition (with the figures in reverse) can be found in the sketch 'Lyons Kitchen Staff with Newspaper'.

Exhibited by:

Ben Uri Research Unit

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