Background
The early 1900s was a time of great innovation in the art of painting. Painters around the world experimented with new techniques and subject matter, building on the innovations of movements like Impressionism from the end of the 1800s. These experimentations were part of a larger move toward Modernism.
In the United States, this experimentation led to the development of the Ashcan School of painting. Ashcan School artists were interested in how art might reflect real life, as opposed to the traditional concept of creating art for art’s sake or presenting fantastic or idealized images of the world. For example, when depicting New York City, Ashcan School artists tried to capture the city’s energy while being honest about the realities of urban life.
Images
John Sloan, Sunday, Women Drying Their Hair, 1912. Via Wikimedia Commons.
Theresa Bernstein, In the Elevated, 1916.
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