A natural man

2014 — by Steve Sanfield and Peter J. Thornton

This timeless ballad has been part of American folklore for over a century. Born with a hammer in his hand, John Henry discovers his true calling as a steel-driving man but he inevitably meets his match in a race against a steam drill that provides a powerful metaphor for the disruption and loss of innocence created by the industrial age. Thorne's soft charcoal drawings deftly capture the triumphal spirit of this cautionary tale