Famous Paintings of Work and Labor

Farmers, laundresses, fishermen and weavers: everyday work, painted with respect.

104 paintings, with works by Camille Pissarro, Jean-François Millet, Edgar Degas and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Most often they suit the dining room, laundry room and kitchen.

Showing 1 to 48 of 104 paintings

The Harvesters, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1565, oil on oak

Pieter Bruegel the Elder The Harvesters, 1565 The Met

Impressionist painting of woman wearing green dress trying on hats.

Edgar Degas The Millinery Shop, 1879-86 Art Institute of Chicago

Painting of a beach on a cloudy day with several sailboats on the water, a few rowboats on the shore, and two groupings of people on the sand.

Claude Monet The Beach at Sainte-Adresse, 1867 Art Institute of Chicago

Painting of two fishermen in small wooden boat on rocky seas.

Winslow Homer The Herring Net, 1885 Art Institute of Chicago

Large English country landscape painting, farmers with horses, green trees.

John Constable Stoke-by-Nayland, 1836 Art Institute of Chicago

The Veteran in a New Field, Winslow Homer, 1865, oil on canvas

Winslow Homer The Veteran in a New Field, 1865 The Met

Large painting of young woman in white dress sitting next to crib.

Jacques-Louis David Madame de Pastoret and Her Son, 1791–92 Art Institute of Chicago

Two girls in acrobatic uniforms stand in an arena, one holds oranges.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Acrobats at the Cirque Fernando (Francisca and Angelina Wartenberg), 1879 Art Institute of Chicago

Painting of a performance inside a circus ring. A man wearing a suit holds a whip in his hand and looks towards a woman with red hair riding a gray horse and wearing a green dress.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Equestrienne (At the Cirque Fernando), 1887–88 Art Institute of Chicago

The Shepherd's Song, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, 1891, oil on canvas

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes The Shepherd's Song, 1891 The Met

The Adoration of the Shepherds, Andrea Mantegna, shortly after 1450, tempera on canvas, transferred from wood

Andrea Mantegna The Adoration of the Shepherds, shortly after 1450 The Met

The Young Virgin, Francisco de Zurbarán, ca. 1632–33, oil on canvas

Francisco de Zurbarán The Young Virgin, ca. 1632–33 The Met

Fish Market, Joachim Beuckelaer, 1568, oil on Baltic oak

Joachim Beuckelaer Fish Market, 1568 The Met

Peasants Bringing Home a Calf Born in the Fields, Jean-François Millet, 1864, oil on canvas

Jean-François Millet Peasants Bringing Home a Calf Born in the Fields, 1864 Art Institute of Chicago

Woman Mending, Camille Pissarro, 1895, oil on canvas

Camille Pissarro Woman Mending, 1895 Art Institute of Chicago

The Seine at Port-Marly, Piles of Sand, Alfred Sisley, 1875, oil on canvas

Alfred Sisley The Seine at Port-Marly, Piles of Sand, 1875 Art Institute of Chicago

Three light-skinned, dark-haired ballerinas, painted in muted tones, wear off-the-shoulder yellow leotards and tutus as they huddle near each other. One adjusts her costume, while one holds her hands clasped above her head.

Edgar Degas Yellow Dancers (In the Wings), 1874–76 Art Institute of Chicago

Jean Renoir Sewing, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1899–1900, oil on canvas

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Jean Renoir Sewing, 1899–1900 Art Institute of Chicago

The Laundress, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1877–79, oil on canvas

Pierre-Auguste Renoir The Laundress, 1877–79 Art Institute of Chicago

The Artist in His Studio, James McNeill Whistler, 1865–66, oil on paper mounted on panel

James McNeill Whistler The Artist in His Studio, 1865–66 Art Institute of Chicago

Painting of three male figures, two older men in top hats and a younger man with red hair, standing outdoors around a wooden table with a pitcher on it, drinking from glasses.

Vincent van Gogh The Drinkers, 1890 Art Institute of Chicago

In the Auvergne, Jean-François Millet, c. 1866–69, oil on canvas

Jean-François Millet In the Auvergne, c. 1866–69 Art Institute of Chicago

The Races at Longchamp, Édouard Manet, 1866, oil on canvas

Édouard Manet The Races at Longchamp, 1866 Art Institute of Chicago

Young Peasant Having Her Coffee, Camille Pissarro, 1881, oil on canvas

Camille Pissarro Young Peasant Having Her Coffee, 1881 Art Institute of Chicago

Café Singer, Edgar Degas, 1879, oil on canvas

Edgar Degas Café Singer, 1879 Art Institute of Chicago

Haymaking at Éragny, Camille Pissarro, 1892, oil on canvas

Camille Pissarro Haymaking at Éragny, 1892 Art Institute of Chicago

Mrs. Mary Arthur, Thomas Eakins, 1900, oil on canvas

Thomas Eakins Mrs. Mary Arthur, 1900 The Met

Harvest Scene, Winslow Homer, ca. 1873, oil on canvas

Winslow Homer Harvest Scene, ca. 1873 The Met

Reapers Resting in a Wheat Field, John Singer Sargent, 1885, oil on canvas

John Singer Sargent Reapers Resting in a Wheat Field, 1885 The Met

Imaginary Landscape with the Palatine Hill from Campo Vaccino, François Boucher, early 1730s, oil on canvas

François Boucher Imaginary Landscape with the Palatine Hill from Campo Vaccino, early 1730s The Met

Young Woman Knitting, Berthe Morisot, ca. 1883, oil on canvas

Berthe Morisot Young Woman Knitting, ca. 1883 The Met

Washerwoman, Study, Camille Pissarro, 1880, oil on canvas

Camille Pissarro Washerwoman, Study, 1880 The Met

A Washerwoman at Eragny, Camille Pissarro, 1893, oil on canvas

Camille Pissarro A Washerwoman at Eragny, 1893 The Met

A Maid Asleep, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1656–57, oil on canvas

Johannes Vermeer A Maid Asleep, ca. 1656–57 The Met

Seated Peasant, Paul Cézanne, ca. 1892–96, oil on canvas

Paul Cézanne Seated Peasant, ca. 1892–96 The Met

A man and woman stand in a sunny field near a line of cone-shaped haystacks under a massive blue sky in this horizontal landscape painting. The scene is loosely painted with visible brushstrokes throughout.

Camille Pissarro Landscape, Ile-de-France, 1873 National Gallery of Art

We look slightly down onto two girls or young women with light skin sitting close to us in a green, grassy field in this square landscape painting.

Camille Pissarro Young Peasant Girls Resting in the Fields near Pontoise, 1882 National Gallery of Art

A young woman with pale, peach skin wearing a white apron over an ankle-length navy-blue dress stands in a dining room in this vertical painting. The painting is created using loose brushstrokes throughout.

Berthe Morisot In the Dining Room, 1886 National Gallery of Art

From a rocky shoreline, we look on several light-skinned people working by the sea with a boat and a net in this freely painted, almost square seascape.

Thomas Gainsborough Seashore with Fishermen, c. 1781/1782 National Gallery of Art

Edgar Degas Woman Ironing, begun c. 1876, completed c. 1887 National Gallery of Art

We look down onto a landscape where several laundry lines have been draped mostly with white sheets or cloth to dry in a flat, grassy yard in front of a rustic house and a distant town in this horizontal painting.

Berthe Morisot Hanging the Laundry out to Dry, 1875 National Gallery of Art

A Woman Ironing, Edgar Degas, 1873, oil on canvas

Edgar Degas A Woman Ironing, 1873 The Met

The Fishermen (Fantastic Scene), Paul Cézanne, ca. 1875, oil on canvas

Paul Cézanne The Fishermen (Fantastic Scene), ca. 1875 The Met

Bullfight, Édouard Manet, 1865–66, oil on canvas

Édouard Manet Bullfight, 1865–66 Art Institute of Chicago

Monk Selling Ceremonial Tea Whisks, Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1802, ink and light color on paper

Katsushika Hokusai Monk Selling Ceremonial Tea Whisks, c. 1802 Art Institute of Chicago

Painting in tones of gray and brown, with some green and blue, of a woman digging with a garden tool before a structure with a thatched roof that descends almost to the ground. Above her the sky is gray and blue, a haze of clouds.

Vincent van Gogh A Peasant Woman Digging in Front of Her Cottage, c. 1885 Art Institute of Chicago

Beggar with Oysters (Philosopher), Édouard Manet, 1865–67, oil on canvas

Édouard Manet Beggar with Oysters (Philosopher), 1865–67 Art Institute of Chicago

Peasant Woman Cooking by a Fireplace, Vincent van Gogh, 1885, oil on canvas

Vincent van Gogh Peasant Woman Cooking by a Fireplace, 1885 The Met

Rooms these paintings suit

Styles