Eakins similarly painted working class and ordinary American subjects with unflinching realism and oil on canvas, treating laborers and everyday figures with the same serious artistic dignity as wealthy patrons. His profile portraits and depictions of shirtless male figures share a democratic and unidealized approach to the human form.

Homer painted working class boys and laborers with genuine artistic respect and naturalistic observation, often depicting partially clad youth in unposed and honest compositions. His oil paintings similarly reject social hierarchy in subject matter, elevating common figures to worthy artistic subjects.

Bellows brought vigorous oil painting technique to portraits and scenes featuring working class subjects, treating shirtless male figures and laborers with the same formal attention historically given to elite sitters. His commitment to democratic subject matter and bold naturalistic style closely parallels the qualities evident in this portrait.