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.

Read more about this topic:  American Realism

Famous quotes containing the words ashcan and/or school:

    Gold light in blind love does not distinguish
    one surface from another, the savor
    is the same to its tongue, the fluted
    cylinder of a new ashcan a dazzling silver,
    the smooth flesh of screaming children a quietness, it is all
    a jubilance....
    Denise Levertov (b. 1923)

    Dad, if you really want to know what happened in school, then you’ve got to know exactly who’s in the class, who rides the bus, what project they’re working on in science, and how your child felt that morning.... Without these facts at your fingertips, all you can really think to say is “So how was school today?” And you’ve got to be prepared for the inevitable answer—”Fine.” Which will probably leave you wishing that you’d never asked.
    Ron Taffel (20th century)