Kenneth Callahan (1905-1986) was born in Spokane and lived in Seattle, becoming a nationally known artist, most celebrated for his murals. Self-taught as a painter and sculptor, he is best known as a leading figure in the Northwest School along with Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, and Guy Anderson. Commissioned in 1936 under the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP), Callahan painted his landmark mural,"Men Who Work the Ships," that was installed in the Seattle Marine Hospital. Like most young artists of the day, Callahan saw the resurgence of the mural form as a social phenomenon which tackled current issues and was a chance to put art right in front of the public. This work is one of the ten paintings that make up that mural. Time passed, the building changed hands, and the mural was discovered in basement storage in 1982. It was subsequently donated to MOHAI where Callahan came to oversee the installation on the museum's walls. Today, this work is prominently displayed in the museum on South Lake Union.