American Realism - Ashcan School

Ashcan School

The Ashcan School was a group of New York City artists who sought to capture the feel of turn-of-the-20th-century New York City, through realistic portraits of everyday life. These artists were not only depicting the rich and promising Fifth Avenue socialites, but the lower class richly and culturally textured immigrants. 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.

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