George Luks - Ashcan School

Ashcan School

Luks made many paintings of working class subjects and scenes of the urban street. "Hester Street" (1905, in the Brooklyn Museum, New York) captures the Jewish court through Luks's vigorously painted representation of immigrant shoppers, pushcart peddlers, casual strollers and curious onlookers of the ethnic variety that characterized metropolitan, turn-of-the century New York. Luks's work typifies the 'real-life' scenes painted by the Ashcan School artists. It was very important for the artists associated with the Ashcan school to depict real life. They wanted to capture a moment in time. Due to the chaos that was depicted, these realists works of art makes the viewer feel involved in the space. Hester Street demonstrates the ability Luks had to capture expressions, gestures as well as background details that portrayed everyday life in New York City.

The Ashcan School successfully challenged academic art institutions. Like many members of The Eight, Luks was a professor of art, first at the Arts Student League and later at a school he established himself. As noted, the Ashcan School was not an organized group. The first known use of the "ash can" terminology in describing the movement was by Art Young, in 1916, but the term was applied later not only to The Eight, but also to such artists as Edward Hopper (a student of Henri), George Bellows (another student of Henri), Mabel Dwight and others such as photographer Jacob Riis, who portrayed urban subject matter, also primarily of New York's working-class neighborhoods. (Hopper's inclusion in the group is ironic: his depictions of city streets are almost entirely free of the usual minutiae, with not a single incidental ashcan in sight.)

In 1905, Luks painted what would become one of his most famous works as well as an Ashcan School icon, "The Spielers", which is now in the Addison Gallery of American Art. Two young girls make up this painting. Their happy faces contrast with their grimy hands. George Luks successfully portrays lower-class children's ability to enjoy life despite their circumstances. He painted the truth, as he saw it. In regard to color, Luks said himself when interviewed, "I'll tell you the whole secret! Color is simply light and shade. You don't need pink or grey or blue so long as you have volume. Pink and blue change with light or time. Volume endures."

Although Luks is most well known for his depictions of New York City life, he also created landscapes the city provided, such as The New York River, New York 1910. His visual perception was very fine and emphasized character through the use of his vivid color. An example of his later work, Society Girl (c. 1920s), interpreted wealth, and the importance of society which was an important aspect in portrait painting seen as far back as in the works of John Singleton Copley. The Cafe Francis 1906, has more impressionist aspects than his usual dark scenes of lower-class urban life. For example, Sulky Boy (1908, Phillips Collection, Washington D.C.) depicts the son of a doctor at Bellevue Hospital who treated Luks for alcoholism. It was noted that Luks was more concerned with depicting the boy's demeanor rather than the accurate representation of the surroundings.