In the spring of 1903 Young modeled his first original works, Tired Out and Laborer (The Shoveler III) (cast of 1908, Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, University of Nebraska, Lincoln) based on sketches he had made while wandering through the streets of Paris. When the plaster models of the two small pieces were exhibited at the 1903-4 winter exhibition of the American Art Association in Paris, they were enthusiastically noted by the press. This critical attention launched Young’s career. According to the artist Tired Out was modeled from memory and from small life drawings. It may have been first conceived as part of a larger project, since the figure appears as the top center component in the drawing Monument to Labor, c. 19023 (Provo, Utah, Harris Fine Arts Center, Brigham Young University). Young’s allegorical design was no doubt inspired by the Gates of Hell, begun 1880, by Auguste Rodin (1840-1917); also, the pose of Tired Out was most likely derived from The Thinker, the main figure of Rodin’s Gates. Young transformed Rodin’s contemplative into a man of physical endeavor. The change is most evident in the context of Young’s allegorical design, which is devoted to the theme of labor. As both Tired Out and Laborer appeared in Monument to Labor (the latter as the large, lower-central motif) and were first exhibited together, Young no doubt originally conceived of them as companion pieces. In fact, when they were reproduced in 1904 in the New York Herald (Paris edition) and the Salt Lake Tribune, the figures were given the titles Toil and Rest. The surface of Tired Out ripples softly throughout, giving an amorphous feeling to the solid mass. Young’s sketchy handling was probably inspired by Rodin. The toiler is dressed in rough, loose, work clothes, his strength conveyed by his oversized hands. Exhausted, and perhaps asleep, his head and shoulders droop down toward his knees. Although at rest, he conveys a power comparable with that of Young’s active laborers, who strain under their physical exertion. Despite its small size, the figure is monumental in conception. Young’s practice was to cast only one bronze at first and later to cast two or three at a time if needed. Although the sculpture was extensively exhibited in the United States during the first two decades of the century after its showing in the Paris Salon of 1904, the museum’s cast is the only located bronze example of Tired Out. It was cast in Paris, probably sometime between the successful exhibition of the plaster model and Young’s permanent return to the United States in 1905. The casting was done by A. A. Hébrard, a small foundry specializing in the lost-wax technique active around 1900. The bronze was originally named Tired Out. When the son of Young’s friend Al Wright called it "man tired," the artist decided that the new title better expressed the sentiment he intended.

The early twentieth century witnessed the transformation of the United States into a modern industrialized society and an international political power. By 1920 more than half of the country’s population lived in urban areas. Seeming to guarantee employment, the cities lured many farmers and African Americans from rural areas. In addition, between 1900 and 1920, 14.5 million immigrants from Europe, Russia, Mexico, and Asia settled here, primarily in urban centers. A new energy was channeled to such cities as New York and Chicago, as massive skyscrapers were erected to furnish much-needed office space and living quarters. Even West Coast cities were affected—the population of Los Angeles tripled between 1900 and 1910; its unplanned urban sprawl and dizzying speed were captured in the zany movies of the Keystone Cops, filmed on the streets of the city.

Art reflected these changing social and economic dynamics. Impressionism and Post-Impressionism were still popular. Yet other, more progressive ideas now challenged artists. A strong new commitment to realism emerged in literature and the fine arts.

In Philadelphia and New York, a group of artists centered around Robert Henri captured the vitality of urban American life. These realists depicted the hustle and bustle of city streets, the common pleasures of restaurants and various forms of entertainment. Critics dubbed these realists the “Ash Can School” because of their treatment of unidealized subject matter previously considered unattractive. These artists focused on the inhabitants of cities rather than the cities themselves. Their interest in people also led them to create a significant number of single-figure paintings, conveying the human side of the new America . During the 1910s and 1920s the realist celebration of America spread throughout the country, as artists recorded the neighborhoods and people that made their own cities distinct.