Urban Anxieties: Ashcan School Flashcards
Ashcan School
Based on teachings of Robert Henri
saw themselves as a revolutionary group
New York subject matter, city life as spectacle, contemporary, momentary
typically lower class, urban, poor
Robert Henri
began as newspaper illustrator
responds to urban labor, poor
scenes of the city, immigrants
quick brushstroke
Robert Henri
Street Scene with Snow, 1902
dirt, grungy NY winter scene
energy conveyed through quick brushstrokes
Robert Henri
Laughing Child, 1910
poor child but still laughing
un-guarded moment
John Sloan
Hairdresser’s Window, 1907
active independence of women, choose the way they look
viewer positioned below looking up, experience of looking
private becoming public
modern life of being seen
Robert Henri
Salome, 1910
scandalous portrait
American prudishness diluted by immigrants
Robert Henri
Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, 1910
relied on wealthy patrons
John Sloan
Women Drying their Hair, 1907
caught in a moment of sexualization, coquettish, not typical pose to dry hair, rooftop - poor
John Sloan
The Haymarket, 1907
prostitutes, reinforced by family group walking away, daughter looking back
more than simple conversation
John Sloan
Three a.m. 1909
bad women stay up late - smoking, cooking
John Sloan
McSorley’s Bar
1912
George Bellows
Stag at Sharkey’s, 1909
male environment, masculinity, boxing- illegal activity, rough fighting
viewpoint in ringside, close and personal, action
all elements of ashcan
George Bellows
Cliff Dwellers, 1913
primitive view of people, types, less about individualism
how city is blended, crowded
Wiliam Glackens
East River Park, 1902
not the same grittiness of urban life
leisure park time suggests certain level of income
William Glackens
Chez Mouquin, 1905
popular cafe, french society (not high), display of status - huge hat, dress, annoymous individuals
use of mirror in background, awkward perspective
William Glackens
The Shoppers, 1908
fur coat, shopping, “Renoir of the Ashcan”
George Luks
Hester Street, 1905
Outsider looking in
slum, Luks omits any reference to hardships instead conveys community, no sense of slum, market scene, interactions
experience of being on the street, viewer in crowd
George Luks
The Spielers, 1905
German immigrants dancing, community life
Everett Shinn
The Cross Streets of New York, 1899
very ashcan
Everett Shinn
The Orchestra Pit, 1906-7
viewer in audience, tilted angle looking up
pleasant moment of city life
theater - democratic space anyone can go
spectacle of urban life
