The Ashcan School of Painting

French Impressionists painted appealing, selectively edited scenes of modern urban life using pure color. The Ashcan School in New York pushed this further, portraying the city’s realities with unflinching honesty rather than beauty. Art historian Bonita Billman examines works by George Bellows, William Glackens, Robert Henri, George Luks, Everett Shinn, and John Sloan, showing how their gritty depictions revealed modern life’s truths and influenced later artists who embraced the city as their subject. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)