The Sharp Eye of Montreal's Social Realist To look at the work of Ernst Neumann is to confront the unvarnished reality of a city in flux. He did not seek the polished surfaces of high society, though he certainly captured them. Instead, his true impact lies in his unflinching gaze toward the margins of Montreal during the Great Depression. While others might have turned away from the grit of the streets, Neumann leaned in. His prints do more than record; they document a specific, heavy atmosphere of poverty and struggle that defined an era. Born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1907, Neumann brough…