"Stag at Sharkey's," George Bellows, 1909.

Bellows (1882-1925) was an acclaimed Realist artist who was part of the Ashcan School, which sought to capture scenes of everyday life in New York, especially that of the lower and poorer classes. He had Socialist and Anarchist leanings, but also was a fervent supporter of the US's entry in WWI. While some on the left viewed him with suspicion, on the right he created controversy with his anticensorhip views, and his opposition to the persecution of dissenters and conscientious objectors.

When told he had no business depicting the war, because he wasn't there, he shot back, "I had no idea Leonardo da Vinci had a ticket to the Last Supper!"

Here we have one of his Aschan paintings, with a boxing match in full swing. Evidently this is at a private boxing club; the term "stag" refers to a contender who's given a temporary membership so he can take part in a bout. He chose a low perspective to imitate that of someone watching from the crowd. He also confessed he knew nothing of boxing, saying, "I'm just painting two men trying to kill each other."

From the Cleveland Museum of Art.

#Art #AmericanArt #GeorgeBellows #AshcanSchool #Boxing

"Ground Swell," Edward Hopper, 1939.

We all know Hopper. Although we know him as a painter of urban scenes, Hopper was a sailing enthusiast.

This is another great summertime painting, but it has undercurrents of menace and isolation. While we have a group of young folks on the boat, nobody is looking at or interacting with each other. The buoy indicates some sort of danger that they need to be aware of. And it looks like storm clouds are lurking on the horizon.

Although there are many interpretations of this painting, it must be noted that Hopper finished it just as WWII was breaking out in Europe...so there's no doubt in my mind as to what the buoy is warning of, or what those clouds in the distance represent.

From the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

#Art #AmericanArt #EdwardHopper #Sailing #Modernism #Realism #AshcanSchool

"Summertime," Edward Hopper, 1943.

Edward Hopper (1882-1967) was THE great American Realist, and his depictions of the isolated individuals of modern urban life are iconic and familiar.

Here we have a woman stepping out into the street on a bright summer day. Her neutral expression gives a sense of waiting...but I noticed, looking close, her dress is quite sheer and doesn't leave a lot to the imagination. Is Hopper hinting at something here? Could she, despite a seeming propriety, be a prostitute?

Hopper left many unanswered questions in his canvases, and this is no exception.

From the Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington. (I plan to go there soon!)

#Art #AmericanArt #Realism #EdwardHopper #Isolation #UrbanLife #AshcanSchool

"Renganeschi's Saturday Night," John French Sloan, 1912.

Sloan (1871-1951) was a founder of the Ashcan School, an art movement centered on scenes of daily life in New York, generally among the working and poorer classes. This painting is actually a bit of a social statement, although it may not seem like it to 21st century eyes. Here we have three women sitting at a table together, unescorted, enjoying an evening out at a restaurant. (Renganeschi's was a popular Italian place at the time.) The waiter is about to serve them and nobody seems to think they're unusual. But they were, in a way...at the time, women were just starting to be accepted as solo or group customers at restaurants. Before, it was necessary for them to have escorts. Also, there are the working class (note the legs curled around the chair, and the general air of raucous geniality). They have worked hard for this evening out, and have every right to enjoy it.

Sloan was a Socialist and pacifist who supported many progressive causes, and this informed his work, although he tried to keep his art and politics separate. Also a noted teacher, Sloan was a champion of muralist Diego Rivera and of Native American artists.

From the Art Institute of Chicago.

#Art #AmericanArt #AshcanSchool #JohnFrenchSloan #WomenInArt
#FeminismInArt

"Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney," Robert Henri, 1916.

Henri (1865-1925) was an influential American painter and teacher, a founder of the Ashcan school of realism, which sought to use art as journalism. Of course, he was not above the occasional glamorous portrait...

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875-1942) was a wealthy heiress and art collector as well as being a talented sculptor in her own right. Her wealth made her a great patron of the arts, but she wasn't stuffy or conservative; she championed women artists, promoted new styles and the avant-garde, and backed composers of modern music. She founded the Whitney in New York to house her collection of American art (which the Met rejected) and deliberately sought to embrace modernism and declare that American art was as good as any other.

She's so lovely and self-assured here; she was a big wheel, and she knew it.

From the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. (Of course!)

#Art #Realism #AshcanSchool #TheWhitney #WomenInArt #WomenArtists