Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami

Washington Square

Artist/Maker Everett Shinn (United States, 1876-1953)

Date1931

Mediumwatercolor on paper

DimensionsSight: 9 1/2 x 8 5/8 in. (24.1 x 21.9 cm)
Framed: 22 1/2 x 16 1/2 x 1 in. (57.2 x 41.9 x 2.5 cm)

ClassificationsVisual Works

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Forbes Hawkes

Terms

Object number53.152.000

On View

Not on view

Collections

Art of North America

DescriptionLike other artists of the Ashcan School, Everett Shinn drew his subject matter from life. Shinn, however, preferred for his subject matter the parks and streets of New York, especially on winter nights; unlike many other of his contemporaries, he was dazzled by women, clothes, the theater, and the glitter of Manhattan's night life. In addition, Shinn had a preoccupation with the past, which he tended to glamorize in his art. In the Lowe's work, a small drama unfolds on a blustery, sleet-swept night, which sends well-dressed ladies scurrying across Washington Square. The presence of horse-drawn carriages and period costumes suggests a 19th century setting, the time period during which elegant, red brick, Greek Revival mansions would have bordered the park at the southern tip of Fifth Avenue.