The Production of Surplus Value
<p>Hugo Gellert, <em>The Production of Surplus Value</em>, 1933. Lithograph and letterpress, sheet (folded): 22 1/2 × 15 1/8 in. (57.2 × 38.4 cm) Sheet (unfolded): 22 1/2 × 30 1/4 in. (57.2 × 76.8 cm) Image: 22 1/2 × 15 1/8 in. (57.2 × 38.4 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Fern and Hersh Cohen 2016.115.30. © Estate of Hugo Gellert, courtesy Mary Ryan Gallery, New York</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1933
- Dimensions
- Sheet (folded): 22 1/2 × 15 1/8 in. (57.2 × 38.4 cm) Sheet (unfolded): 22 1/2 × 30 1/4 in. (57.2 × 76.8 cm) Image: 22 1/2 × 15 1/8 in. (57.2 × 38.4 cm)
- Collection
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Artist
- Hugo Gellert
Artist

Printmaking
Hugo Gellert was an American printmaker and painter whose work combined social realism with expressionistic line work, often depicting industrial labor and political upheaval. Active from the 1920s through the 1980s, he created woodcuts, lithographs, and paintings that engaged directly with themes of class struggle and working-class life. His formal language drew on German Expressionism and Mexican muralism, adapted to American urban subject matter. Gellert maintained an independent artistic practice throughout his career, remaining committed to socially engaged representation.
Full artist profile →More
More by Hugo Gellert
Plate (page 32) from Century of the Common Man
1943 · One from an illustrated book with nineteen screenprints
Plate (page 34) from Century of the Common Man
1943 · One from an illustrated book with nineteen screenprints
Plate (page 42) from Century of the Common Man
1943 · One from an illustrated book with nineteen screenprints
Plate (page 30) from Century of the Common Man
1943 · One from an illustrated book with nineteen screenprints
Plate (page 40) from Century of the Common Man
1943 · One from an illustrated book with nineteen screenprints
Plate (page 46) from Century of the Common Man
1943 · One from an illustrated book with nineteen screenprints
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Hugo Gellert
- Year
- 1933
- Dimensions
- Sheet (folded): 22 1/2 × 15 1/8 in. (57.2 × 38.4 cm) Sheet (unfolded): 22 1/2 × 30 1/4 in. (57.2 × 76.8 cm) Image: 22 1/2 × 15 1/8 in. (57.2 × 38.4 cm)
- Watts ID
- WW-1933-174519
Source
- Collection
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Source
- whitney
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified





