About American Realism America in the early 20th century Ashcan School and The Eight

Ashcan School and The Eight

Ashcan School artists, c. 1896,
l to r, Everett Shinn, Robert Henri, John French Sloan
The Ashcan School was a group of New York City artists who sought to capture the feel of early-20th-century New York City, through realistic portraits of everyday life. These artists preferred to depict the richly and culturally textured lower class immigrants, rather than the rich and promising Fifth Avenue socialites. One critic of the time did not like their choice of subjects, which included alleys, tenements, slum dwellers, and in the case of John Sloan, taverns frequented by the working class. They became known as the revolutionary black gang and apostles of ugliness.

George Bellows, Both Members of This Club, 1909, oil on canvas, 45​¹⁄₄ × 63​¹⁄₈ in. (115 × 160.5 cm), National Gallery of Art
George Bellows
George Bellows (1882–1925), painted city life in New York City. His paintings had an expressionist boldness and a willingness to take risks. He had a fascination with violence as seen in his 1909 painting, Both Members of This Club, which depicts a rather gory boxing scene. His 1913 painting Cliff Dwellers, depicts a city-scape that is not one particular view but a composite of many views.
Robert Henri

Robert Henri, Snow in New York, 1902, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Robert Henri (1865–1921) was an important American Realist and a member of The Ashcan School. Henri was interested in the spectacle of common life. He focused on individuals, strangers, quickly passing in the streets in towns and cities. His was a sympathetic rather than a comic portrayal of people, often using a dark background to add to the warmth of the person depicted. Henri's works were characterized by vigorous brushstrokes and bold impasto which stressed the materiality of the paint. Henri influenced Glackens, Luks, Shinn and Sloan.^[2] In 1906, he was elected to the National Academy of Design, but when painters in his circle were rejected for the Academy's 1907 exhibition, he accused fellow jurors of bias and walked off the jury, resolving to organize a show of his own. He would later refer to the Academy as a cemetery of art.
Everett Shinn

Everett Shinn, Self-portrait, 1901
Everett Shinn (1876–1953), a member of the Ashcan School, was most famous for his numerous paintings of New York and the theater, and of various aspects of luxury and modern life inspired by his home in New York City. He painted theater scenes from London, Paris and New York. He found interest in the urban spectacle of life, drawing parallels between the theater and crowded seats and life. Unlike Degas, Shinn depicted interaction between the audience and performer.