Customer Reviews

Metropolitan Lives: The Ashcan Artists and Their New York, 1897-1917

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When Bill Gates bought a George Bellows oil for twenty-seven-and-a-half million dollars in November of 1999, the national media at last took notice of what may be the most important genre of American art - the Ashcan period of the early 1900's. This wonderful book captures the lives, times, and works of the six artists who brought the streets of turn-of-the-century New York City to thrilling life. Bellows, Sloan, Henri, Glackens, Luks, and Shinn shared a collective talent and daring unseen before or since in the United States, and the book presents their best works in gorgeous color. It also delves into both the men's and the city's history to place the art in context.

Alfred Lord Tennyson once praised Rudyard Kipling for his 'divine fire.' Of the six artists here, Bellows, Sloan, and Henri clearly possessed that fire.

Bellows's unflinching depiction of New York's seedy side reveals a city simultaneously frightening, comical, and beautiful. Sloan's more affectionate touch finds warm delight in the common and mundane. The vitality of Henri's portraits is nothing short of remarkable.

If you buy this book for nothing else, buy it for Sloan. Beautiful, accessible, challenging paintings. And you won't find yourself in a competition with Bill Gates. =)