Tina Modotti’s embrace of the struggles of the Mexican working class inspired many of her photographs during her stay in that country, and in 1926, she began work on a series of studies of Mexican workers that combined her aesthetic and political views. Modotti authority Sarah Lowe cites Labor 1, or Hands Washing, as one of her strongest photographs from this time. Lowe writes,
‘Through close cropping and elegant composition, Modotti created icons that fairly explode. Literally, these hands do the necessary work for Mexico, while figuratively, they represent the potential political power vested in the campesinos and the trabajadores’ (Tina Modotti: Photographs, p. 36).

In contrast to the masterfully orchestrated Campesinos (lot 9), which shows the collective strength of workers united, Labor 1—with its depiction of a pair of muscular hands at work—demonstrates the power inherent in the individual.

An early gelatin silver print of this image is in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, New York.