She transformed the story of Petroushka (the Russian equivalent of Punch or Pulchinello) to describe the plight of the worker, subjugated by the interests of capitalism (the banker) and its enforcers (policeman). The viewer looks down on the scene in a cobblestoned yard between apartment blocks. The crowd responds to the performance with catcalls and clenched fists—an anti-fascist symbol of unity, strength, and resistance used here to indicate the artist’s support for their cause.

Clark had high expectations for Petroushka. She first showed it at the Canadian Group of Painters exhibition in 1937, along with Wheat Field, 1936, and Bathing the Horse, 1937, a troika of Russian-inspired work. It remained in her possession until the National Gallery purchased it in 1976.

This Spotlight is excerpted from Paraskeva Clark: Life & Work by Christine Boyanoski.