By:Susan Lin
Constance Schwartz and Franklin Hill Perrell, the head curators of the Nassau County Museum of Art, have unveiled "Old New York and Artists of the Period 1900-1941," an exhibit focusing on New York City during the first half of the 20th century as portrayed by artists of the Ashcan and Realist traditions.
One bit of trivia visitors of the exhibit will learn is that of the more than 50 paintings and drawings in the exhibit, only two works [ITAL]might[END ITAL] have an ashcan (a gray garbage can) in them.
"You'll see, that is in the form of an ashcan," said Perrell, bending double to point at a 1/2 inch gray speck in a painting. "It's a misconception that Ashcan artists painted a lot of ashcans," he said.
Actually, the term was at first derogatory, said Perrell. Artists of the "Academy" nicknamed the few painters that began to portray unsavory subject matter, such as hobos, sweatshops, and beer halls, the "ashcan school."
Some traditionalists also described the often dark paint used by the splinter group as "brown sauce," said Perrell.
Nonetheless, Ashcan artists continued to capture what they believed as the spirit of New York City life as it became increasingly urbanized. And today, the group is considered as the first members of what would later be recognized as the Realist movement.
Many paintings in the exhibit are clearly taken from everyday life in the city. In "Coney Island Beach," a painting by Reginald March in 1939, viewers see a large crowd of people sunbathing or frolicking practically on top of one another -- hardly the familiar idealized landscape.
In contrast might be Edward Hopper's "Day After the Funeral." It is a bleak painting that shows a hunchbacked woman, dressed in black, walking alone down a sidewalk with a cane.
Isabel Bishop, another artist in the show, painted the modern woman in the city. Her paintings depict women going to work, traveling the subways or sharing simple pleasures, as in her piece, "Ice Cream Cones" of 1938-39.
Other major oils brought in by Schwartz and Perrell include Robert Henri's "East River Embankment, Winter" of 1900, William Glackens' "Spring in the Square" of 1915-16, George Bellow's "Luncheon in the Park" of 1913; and Ernest Lawson's "Manhattan Excavation" of 1907.
"Through their works, these artists told the story of the people in the city; how they lived, worked, suffered, played and died," Perrell wrote in the exhibition catalog.
Also on view are artifacts of the era in New York. They include city maps; a push-cart, which is something people at the time saw regularly on the streets; a well-worn carousel horse from early Coney Island; and tattered immigration documents.
"The artifacts help people to experience the time that the art was created. We are telling the story of an era," said Perrell.
At a glance
"Old New York and Artists of the Period 1900-41"
Through Nov. 4
Nassau County Museum of Art
One Museum Drive, off Northern Blvd., Roslyn Harbor
Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tues., Wed., Thurs., Sat., Sun.
11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fri.
closed Mondays
Admission: $5 adults, $4 seniors, $2 children
