Francis Criss was critically acclaimed for his distinctive blend of realism and abstraction. Alma Sewing is his most ambitious and striking work. In its celebration of the artist as worker, the painting is a quintessential 1930s expression, but it also makes a personal statement: a self-portrait appears in the lower half of the seamstress’s lamp. While Alma may be viewed as the artist’s model, Criss thoughtfully presents her as a skilled professional surrounded by the tools of her trade.