Metropolitan lives

New York at the turn of the century was a city in transition. At the junction of steamship lines from Europe and railroads from the interior, it was the hub of shipping, manufacturing, and corporate activity, as well as the leading port of entry for immigrants. This was the New York of the Ashcan artists. Fascinated with the contrasts and nuances of urban change, George Bellows, William Glackens, Robert Henri, George Luks, Everett Shinn, and John Sloan sought out the human drama of New York's streets - from life in immigrant neighborhoods, backlot football games, boxing matches, and bars to city parks where bums shared space with fashionably dressed young women. If their work contrasted with the genteel subjects typical of art in the 1890s, their subjects were familiar territory to those who turned to contemporary newspaper articles, illustrated magazines, even the vaudeville stage, interpretations of contemporary life. Like journalists, the Ashcan artists captured the breaking trends of their day. This book presents more than 100 paintings, drawings, and prints by the six artists whose earthy, urban subjects led critics to call them the "Ashcan School," along with reproductions of