‘Coping’ (2008) is a masterful example of Nicole Eisenman’s allegorical paintings, which merge the autobiographical with art history and fiction to create a cutting critique of present-day social and political conditions.

Painted in response to the Great Recession, ‘Coping’ features a group of incongruous town residents wading through torrents of sewage. As the title suggests, they appear to endure their absurd discomfort quietly, united by their shared misery.

Eisenman pays homage to the art historical tradition of the street scene, evoking Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s famous cycle of paintings of pedestrians in Berlin and Pieter Bruegel’s depictions of Northern European villages.

‘Coping’ reflects Eisenman’s virtuosic approach to painting, which is grounded in the lushness and materiality of the medium. This is particularly evident in the contrast between the carefully rendered figures behind the windows of the half-timbered house and the evocative impasto brush strokes that form the clouds over the scene.