In The River, Louis Guglielmi depicted figures overlooking an expanse of shimmering water that contrasts with the industrial landscape on the far shore. The seven women and a child wear plain clothing typical of the working class on a day of leisure. Guglielmi focused on the struggles of everyday people amid the Great Depression and the rising threat of Fascism, frequently championing the laboring classes in his art. Painted during World War II, the composition attests to the daily monotony of a country at war: the men have been transported abroad, and women now exclusively inhabit the city.