CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE
GEORGE LUKS AND THE AMERICAN SCENE
A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in
Art
by
Sally Ann-Steiner /
June 1980 The Thesis of Sally Ann Steiner is approved:
Professor Bernard A. Thorsell
.california State University, Northridge
ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The entire process of developing this master's thesis has involved working with many persons to whom this study is now dedicated. The research was initiated, inspired, and finally presented with the encouragement and assistance of Dr. Donald S. Strong, Professor of Art History and Chairman of the Thesis Committee. Dr. Strong consis tently contributed support and inspiration, and spared neither time, patience, nor scholarly suggestions. Dr.
Bernard Thorsell, Professor of Sociology and Chairman of the Sociology Department, CSUN, participated enthusiasti cally on the Committee and contributed guidance to the sociological considerations within the study. Ms. Kenan
Breazeale, Assistant Professor of Art History, provided insights and suggestions for the format and presentation of material. Dr. Jeanne Trabold, Professor of Art History, assisted graciously with questions of form.
Through correspondence and personal interviews,
Helen Parr Sloan, Margarett Vernon, Joseph Hirsch, Joseph S.
Trovato, Dr. E. Maurice Bloch, Phil Dike, and others helped bring vitality to the memory of George Luks and his con tributions in American art. Museum staff personnel across the country responded helpfully to correspondence. The staff of librarians, Oviatt Library, CSUN, willingly aided
iii research efforts. In particular, appreciation is extended to Ms. Charlotte Oyer, Ms. Virginia Elwood, Mrs. Lyle
Imbach, and Mr. Don Read, who answered questions, offered suggestions, and successfully provided their special skills. In the final phase of work Mrs. Evelyn Mayfield collaborated efficiently with typing and preparation.
This study could not have been accomplished without the love and devotion of my husband, children, and mother, who encouraged and supported this effort and endured the extended time it has taken to complete. Particular grati tude and affection are given to my husband, Carl, for his invaluable editing and photography, as well as his love and loyalty. His sensitivity, companionship, and appreciation for .the arts have sustained me through this work.
iv TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . • . • . . iii
LIST OF PLATES AND SOURCES vi ·
ABSTRACT xii
INTRODUCTION 1
Chapter
1. LUKS' EARLY YEARS AND THE TRADITION OF ARTISTS WHO DOCUMENT THE AMERICAN SCENE 10
2. COMICS, POLITICAL CARTOONS, MAGAZINE SKETCHES AND DRAWINGS: LUKS' COM- MENTARY ON THE URBAN AMERICAN SCENE 23
3. INFLUENCES ON LUKS FROM THE SOCIOCULTURAL ENVIRONMENT, PARALLELS WITH THE LITERARY TRADITION, AND LUKS' INFLUENCE ON OTHERS . . . • ...... 4 9
4. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS 69
PLATES 73
BIBLIOGRAPHY 158
APPENDIXES
A. REMINISCENCES OF PHIL DIKE, FORMER STUDENT OF LUKS ...... 173
B. LUKS DESCRIBES THE SLUMS IN AN INTERVIEW BY LOUIS BAURY ...... 180 c. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES ...... 183
v PLATES AND SOURCES
Plates Page
1. Winslow Homer, Snap the Whip, oil, 1872.
Source: Lloyd Goodrich, Winslow Homer {New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1973), p. 63 .••.•.••.•• 75
2. Thomas Eakins, Walt Whitman, oil, 1887.
Source: Fairfield Porter, Thomas Eakins (New York: George Braziller, Inc., 1959), Plate 49. . •.•.....•.. 77
3. Thomas Anshutz, Ironworkers at Noontime, oil, ca. 1882.
Source: The City in American Painting {Allentown;-Pennsylvania: Allentown Art Museum, 19 7 3) , p. 3 5 • • • • • • • . • • 79
4. Robert Henri, Portrait of George Luks, oil, 1904.
Source: William Innes Homer, Robert Henri and His Circle (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1969), p. 114. • ••. 81
5. George Luks, The Old Duchess, oil, 1905.
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York .. 83
6. George Luks, "Uncle Sam: 'I'm Ready to Join this Peace Conference,'" political cartoon for journal, 1899.
Source: The Verdict, Vol. 1, No. 10 {February~, 1899), 10-11 •..••• 85
7. Winslow Homer, Cavalry Soldier, black chalk, 1863.
Source: Lloyd Goodrich, Winslow Homer (New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1973), p. 13. . . • ...... • . • .. . • • . • • 87
vi Plate Page
8. George Luks, "An Insurgent Standard Bearer," newsprint, 1896.
Source: Philadelphia EVening Bulletin, microfilm, 1896. . ..•....• 89
9. George Luks, Hester Street, oil, 1905.
Source: The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York...... 91
10. Thomas Eakins, Wrestlers, oil, 1899.
Source: Sylva Schendler, Eakins (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1967), Plate 74, p. 158 ...... 93
11. George Luks, Wrestlers, oil, 1905.
Source: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. . . . • • . . . . 95
12. George Luks, "The Battle of January 29," newsprint, 1896.
Source: Philadelphia Even·ing Bulletin, microfilm, February 15, 1896 .... 97
13. Geroge Luks, "A Hot Election Day in Hogan's Alley," newsprint, 1896.
Source: New York World, microfilm, Novem- ber 1, 1896, Sunday Supplement, p. 1. . . . . 99
14. George Luks, "Barbarous Cruelty of a Tu;kish Governor," newsprint, 1896.
Source: New York World, microfilm, Sep- tember 20;-18~p. 19 ...... 101
15. George Luks, "The Imperialism Stunt," political cartoon for journal, 1899.
Source: The Verdict, Vol. 2, No. 9 (August 1~1899), 1...... 103
vii Plate Page
16. George Luks, "Hanna: That Man Clay Was an Ass. It's Better to be Presi dent than to Be Right!" political car toon for journal, 1899. Source: Thomas C. Blaidsell, Jr., Peter Selz and Seminar. TheAmerican Presidency in Political C:arfoons: 1776~1976 (Berkeley, California: University Art Museum, 1976) , Plate 49, p. 141. . • ...... 105
17. George Luks, "The Way We Get the War News - Manila Correspondent and th~ McKinley Censorship," political cartoon for journal, 1899. Source: The Verdict, Vol. 2, No. 10 (August ?r;-1899), 1 •...... 107 18. George Luks, "The Coming Republican Circus Has A Dress Rehearsal," political cartoon for journal, 1899. Source: The Verdict, Vol. 2, No. 3 (July 31 1899) 1 12-13 • o o o o • • • 109 19. George Luks, Seen on Any Free Day in Any Art Gallery, published sketch,-r92I7 Source: Vanity Fair, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Junel921), 44.-- ...... 111
20. George Luks, Bringers of Light: The Professors, published sketch, 192~
Source: Vanity Fair, Vol. 19, No. 3 (November 1922) ,~ ...•... 113
21. George Luks, The Children's Hour in Washington Square, published sketch, 1921. Source: Vanity Fair, Vol. 17, No. 4 (December 1921),~ ...... 115
viii Plate Page
22. George Luks, The Sand Artist, oil, 1905. Source: George Luks, 1866-1933, Utica, New York: Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute. 117 23. George Luks, The Mixed Grill Served Daily at the Ritz, published sketch, 1922.
Source: Vanity Fair, Vol. 18, No. 6 (February 1922), 62. . .•••. 119
24. George Luks, Polo: A Few Motion Pictures ey George Luks, black chalk, 1922.
Source: Vanity Fair, Vol. 19, No. 1 (September 1922) , 72. • • . . . . • • 121
25. George -Luks, At the Taft Exhibition, pencil, n.d.
Source: Munson-Williams-Proctor Insti tute, Utica, New York. . •...•••. 123 26. George Luks, Fat Woman, blue crayon, n.d. Source: Munson-Williams-Proctor Insti tute, Utica, New York. . ...•••. 125 27. George Luks, Spring in the Woods, pencil, n.d. Source: Munson-Williams-Proctor Insti tute, Utica, New York. . . . • . . 127
28. George Luks, Figures, pencil, n.d.
Source: George Luks Drawinas, Olana Gallery, 2390 Palisades Avenue, Bronx, New York, Catalogue No. 13, p. 6 •• 129
29. George Luks, Figures, pencil, n.d. Source: George LUks Drawings, Olana Gallery, New York, Catalogue No. 13, p. 13. . • . . . • ...... 131
ix Plate Page
30. George Luks, Group of Figures, carbon pencil, ca. 1920.
Source: National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. . . . • . • . . 133 31. George Luks, Daughter of the Mines, watercolor, 1923. Source: George Luks - 1866-1933. An exhibition of--paint:ings and drawings dating from 1889 to 1931 (Utica, New York: Munson-Williams-Proctor Insti tute, 1973), p. 11 •...... 135 32. George Luks, Teddie Roosevelt: Facing Right, color, n.d. Source: Hirschl and Adler Galleries, New York...... 137
33. George Luks, Teddie Roosevelt: Facing Front, color, n.d.
Source: Hirschl and Adler Galleries, New York. . . • . . . . . • . . . . . 139 34. George Luks, Jack Dempsey in Training, watercolor, 1920-1924. Source: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California ..... 141 35. George Luks, Portrait of Gene Tunney, oil, 1927. Source: Vanity Fair, Vol. 29, No. 2 (October 1927) , ~- ...... 143 36. George Luks, The Peddler, pencil on paper, n.d. Source: Walker Art Center Minneapolis, Minnesota. . •.... 145 37. George Luks, The Miner, oil, 1925.
Source: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. . ... 147
X Plate Page
38. George Luks, Man Alone, pencil, n.d.
Source: Munson-Williams-Proctor Insti tute, Utica, New York. • .••.• . . . 149 39. Reginald Marsh, "What Is Wrong with these Pictures?" published sketch, 1922.
Source: Vanity Fair, Vol. 18, No. 4 (July 1922), 74. . . . • . • . • 151
40. Philip Evergood, Her World, oil, 1948.
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York ...•.....••. 153
41. Joseph Hirsch, Blind Men Listening, conte crayon on paper, n.d.---
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York .•...•• 155
42. Joseph Hirsch, The Room, oil on canvas, n.d.
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York .•...... 157
xi ABSTRACT
GEORGE LUKS AND THE AMERICAN SCENE
by
Sally Ann Steiner
In this study George Luks' artistic achievements are examined from the standpoint of the artist's role as a
commentator on the American scene of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The basic art historical account
is expanded upon through a consideration of social history, the impact of historical events, and parallels in American literature. Such a multifaceted approach should enable the reader to better understand Luks' position in the history of American art.
The discussion commences with Luks' early years and his participation in the tradition of both American artist illustrators and painters who record the American scene. In this process consideration is given to Winslow Horner·, Thomas
Eakins, Thomas Anshutz, and Robert Henri. Luks' political cartoons for The Verdict, comics for the New York World, and sketches for Vanity Fair, achievements which have not
xii previously been reviewed in art historical literature, are next given attention.
The works by Luks discussed in this study reflect vital influences from the sociocultural environment. Con sideration to this relationship, especially the signifi cance of the theme of the "strenuous life," as defined and interpreted by Theodore Roosevelt, strengthens the connec tion between Luks and his own experiences as they are documented within his oeuvre. A discussion of parallels in the literary tradition as evidenced in the writings of
Theodore Dreiser, Stephen Crane, and Frank Norris serves to further record the individual American's response to the evolving urban experience. A reference to artists Philip
Eyergood, Regina~d Marsh, and Joseph Hirsch, once students of Luks, demonstrates Luks' influence on these subsequent artists and their comments on the American scene.
This study affirms the interrelationship of the traditions of the "fine" and "popular" arts in America and serves as a basis for re-evaluating the contributions of other American artists. Finally, it is hoped that this study provides for a better understanding of Luks, both as a human being and as an American artist.
xiii INTRODUCTION
George Luks belongs to the tradition of Amrican artists, both visual and literary, who observe and comment on the American scene. In addition to paintings in oil and watercolors, Luks' artistic achievements include political cartoons for The Verdict, comics for the New York World, sketches for Vanity Fair, and other drawings. These particular contributions to American art emphasize the importance of popular art forms as outgrowths of the socio- cultural environment. The purpose of this study is two- fold: {1) to account for Luks as a political cartoonist, comics artist, and illustrator, and {2) to suggest that his accomplishments in these areas of the so-called "popular arts," in combination with certain of his "fine arts" paintings, provide visual evidence to support the view that
Luks was a significant social commentator on the American scene.
Ralph Waldo Emerson recognized the importance of the environment to the contributions of the individual:
No man can quite emancipate himself from his age and country, or produce a model in which the education, the religion, the politics, usages and arts of his time shall have no share. Though he were ever so original, never so wilfull and fan tastic, he cannot wipe out of his work every trace of the thoughts amidst which it grew. Above his will and out of his sight he is necessitated by the air he breathes and the idea on which he and his
1 2
contemporaries live and toil, to share the manner of his times.l
Previous studies on Luks, which inclu9,e one mono graph,2 numerous exhibition catalogs, articles in journals, etc., concentrate on Luks' accomplishments in his paintings, watercolors, drawings, and sketches, but have not given con- sideration to the political cartoons, comics, and magazine sketches. Luks' paintings are well known contributions to
American art. His breadth of subject matter includes the elderly as seen in The Old Duchess and The Fortune Teller, the young as seen in The Sand Artist and The Spielers, scenes of New York including Hester Street, and nature por- trayed vividly in such paintings in watercolor as Boulders on a Riverbank and Fisherman and Boulders. This study will survey heretofore neglected "popular" art contributions of
Luks. Elizabeth Luther Carey, in her monograph, indicates that Luks' primary strength was his "ability to grasp the hidden emotional subtelties of a subject."3 It will be demonstrated that Luks' newspaper, journal, and magazine work nurtured the development of this ability.
Kavolis, a leading sociologist, writes, "Art con- tent reflects not social reality itself, but diverse modes
lRalph Waldo Emerson, "Art," Ralph 1"7aldo Emerson's Essays and Journals, ed. Lewis Mumford (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Co., Inc., 1968), p. 236.
2Elizabeth Luther Carey, George Luks (New York: Whitney Museum of Art, 1931).
3Ibid, p. 10. 3 of emotional involvement with such reality."4 He defines this involvement with social reality as "a sense of human- relatedness--interweaving cognitive, evaluative, conative, and affective components--to sociocultural environment."S
Particularly through the iconography of his cartoons and drawings, Luks expresses the social reality of his time.
Previous studies on Luks dealt primarily with the style and subject matter of his paintings and drawings and neglected certain nuances of content. This study will evaluate Luks' contributions to American art and will demonstrate Luks' importance as a social commentator.
Luks' choice and interpretation of subject matter is testimony to his participation in "the manner of his times,"6 and his recognition of the evolving American
"social character." According to Reisman,
"Social character" is that part of the "character" which is shared among significant social groups, and which, as most contemporary social scientists define it, is the product and experience of these groups.?
Henry Steel Commager attempts to account for sources for the development of the American character which evolves out of the cultures of Britain and Europe, and traces back
4vytautas Kavolis, "Art Content and Social Involve ment," Journal of Social Forces, Vol. 42, No. 4 (May 1964), 471. srbid.
6see Page 2 for quotation from Emerson.
7navid Reisman, The Lonely Crmvd (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974) ,~ 4. 4
some two thousand years:
That America was the offspring of Britain was acknowledged; that the roots of her culture and her institutions traced back to Greece and Rome and Palestine was not to be forgotten; and the basic institutions of state, church and family which Americans maintained and the fundamental values which they cherished advertised the origin of the relationship. a The pictorial tradition of American artists was strongly rooted in Europe until the late nineteenth century.
During the post-Civil War period, a time of political, social, and economic expansion, American artists travelled abroad to Europe, to overcome their provincialism.· At home, philanthropic interests of several wealthy Americans fostered the development of repositories for art, to be enjoyed by the general public. These efforts encouraged the growth and development in New York of such institutions as the Art Students League and the Metropolitan Museurn. 9
New York City became even more important than it had been for the development of the arts.
Artists before Luks had responded to the realities of American society. In the mid-nineteenth century Winslow
Homer, as an artist-illustrator of the American scene, recorded the events of the Civil War for Harper's Weekly, and created expressly American images. In Snap the Whip,
8Henry Steele Commager, The American Mind (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1950}, p. 3.
9oliver Larkin, Art and Life in America (New York: Rinehart and Winston, 1960) ,~ 251. 5
of 1872 (Plate 1), he depicts the vigorous activity of boys against a landscape background. Thomas Eakins con tinued an American portrait tradition and made this genre contemporary through a commitment to unmitigated realism, as seen in Walt Whitman, of 1887 (Plate 2). In addition to his unflinching portraits, Eakins further reinforced the tradition of realism in American art through his teaching.
Thomas Anshutz continued in Eakins' footsteps as a teacher, and counted Luks among his students. Anshutz recorded the
American worker in Ironworkers at Noontime, ca. 1882 (Plate
3). contemporaneous with Luks, Robert Henri instructed his students and artist friends to focus on art as life, and documented his friendship with Luks in a full length portrait. (Plate 4).
During the first two-and-a-half decades of the present century, Luks and his contemporaries visually docu mented the social types of their day through paintings and drawings. Later, other artists, including some who studied briefly with Luks, continued to focus on aspects of the
American social character. American artists reflected the
American scene through the visual representation of the characteristics of self-reliance and personal independence, presenting images of immigrants, children, the elderly, and urban workers. These individuals were struggling to find and maintain their uniqueness as they confronted changes within urban American society. According to Reisman, in 6
the nineteenth century a particular type of social charac-
ter was dominant in America:
• The greater choices this society gives--and the greater initiatives it demands in order to cope with its novel problems--are handled by character types who can manage to live socially without strict and self-evident tradition direction. These are the inner-directed types .•.• the source of direction for the individual is "inner" in the sense that it is implanted early in life by the elders and directed toward generalized but nonetheless inescapably des tined goals.lO
This inner~directed type of social character is seen in the nineteenth century American who is self-reliant, indepen~ dent, and directed by controls internalized early in the life of the individual. The struggles and sources of
frustration of the inner-directed individual in the chang- ing American society of the turn of the century is a subject visually documented by Luks. Problems arose as the indi- vidual American evolved from the manifestation of inner- directed personality traits to those of other-directed characteristics. Reisman also discusses other-directed people:
What is common to all the other-directed people is that their contemporaries are the source of direc tion for the individual--either those known to him or those with whom he is indirectly acquainted, through friends and through the mass media. This source is of course "internalized" in the sense that dependence on it for guidance in life is implanted early. The goals toward which the other-directed person strives shift with that guidance: it is only the process of striving itself and the process
lOReisman, pp. 14-15. 7
of paying close attention to the signals from others that remain unaltered throughout life.ll
This other-directed type of social character is seen fre- quently in the twentieth century urban American who seems to rely on his external environment for control and direction.
In general, Luks' subject matter moves away from an early concern for the inner-directed person to later attention to manners and fashion as represented in the Vanity Fair sketches of the second and third decades of this century.
In responding to the images of the American scene,
Luks was influenced by the theme of the "strenuous life.nl2
He interpreted this theme as described by Theodore Roosevelt with characteristic "gusto" and "guts.nl3 One of Luks' strengths seems to have been his sensitivity to and under- standing of the social conditions of individuals in urban
America from the turn of the century to the 1930s.
llibid., p. 21.
12For a definition and discussion of the theme of the "strenuous life," see Chapter 3, pp. 51-57. 13Luks was frequently described as living and paint ing with "gusto," as for example in Benjamin DeCasseres, "The Fantastic George Luks," New York Herald Tribune, September 10, 1933, p. 12, co~l; James A. H. Murray and Others, The Oxford English Dictionary, Vol. N (Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1933), p. 519, defines gusto: "Keen relish or enjoyment displayed in speech or action; zest."; Eric Partridge, The· Macmillan Dictionary of Historical Slang (New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1974), p. 413, defines "guts: from about 1890 - colloquial -to be spirited, energetic; a 'good fellow.'" 8
Urban subject matter was popular with writers as well as with America's visual artists during the first decades of the twentieth century. One difference between the two is that the visual tradition is less brutally descriptive than the written. The rise of urban centers was documented in the novel, as American literature echoed the end of the century spirit, and responded to the facts of life in cities. Thomas Dreiser, Stephen Crane, and
Frank Norris wrote novels which vividly portrayed human responses to the urban experience. In Dreiser's novel,
The 11 Genius" (1915), the central character, Eugene Witla, is an artist. In !4aggie, A Girl of the Streets (1893),
Crane creates an intense verbal image of slum life. Norris, in McTeague (1899), dramatically illustrates the themes of degeneration and violence and delves into aspects of sexu ality in human relationships. Paralleling these literary efforts, Luks' sketches in oil and pencil are essays on character, derived from the heterogeneous urban population.
Finally, Luks as a teacher influenced others who have continued to document and comment upon the American scene and the evolving American social character. Reginald
Marsh, Philip Evergood, and Joseph Hirsch studied briefly with Luks and they reflect his interest in humanity in ways which express their own experiences and observations.
Luks' contributions to American art rest both on his 9
influence as a teacher and his individual creative achievement, a part of which is his commentary upon Ameri can social realities. Chapter 1
LUKS' EARLY YEARS AND THE TRADITION OF ARTISTS WHO DOCUMENT THE AMERICAN SCENE
George Luks represents a major link in the chain of
American artists who visually document the evolving social character and the American scene in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Luks' contemporary, Robert
Henri, preached that "All art that is worthwhile is a record of intense life. nl Luks own zest for living sent him into the urban environment for subject matter.
His paintings record individuals of the urban scene and frequently his subjects were from the slums of New York
City. The Old Duchess, 1905 (Plate 5}, for example, is a vivid characterization of a derelict, who wears splendid, if second-hand, garments. Luks' choice of this subject suggests his concern for the drama of existence, and of the paradox of poverty within an affluent democracy. Such an interpretation must remain speculative, however, for there is no documentation as to how Luks selected his subject matter outside of the consideration of "pictorial possi bilities."2
lRobert Henri, The Art Spirit (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company;-1951), p. 220.
2phil Dike, well-known California watercolorist, studied with Luks in the late twenties. Mr. Dike described 11
Luks' political cartoons, on the other hand, pro- vide a much clearer opportunity for the analysis of his intention in this regard. Through the political cartoon
Luks expressed his own feelings and attitudes, those of his publishers, and, one assumes, often those of the general public. These feelings and attitudes were directed toward national policies and international relations, in addition to issues surrounding urban development. In a cartoon for
The Verdict, dated February 20, 1899 and captioned, "Uncle
Sam: 'I'm Ready to Join this Peace Conference'" (Plate 6),
Uncle Sam, although declaring his peaceful intentions to a group of world leaders, is shown well-armed with the weapons of war necessary for imperialist aggression. Luks demonstrates an ability to portray recognizable likenesses as well as to exaggerate facial features in true carica- turist manner in this well-executed cartoon. With the aid of his artistic skills, he incisively communicates the anti-imperialist editorial policy of The Verdict.3
Luks worked as an artist7 illustrator for the Philadelphia Press in the 1890s, and thus participated in a to this writer an instance of Luks' selection of subject matter. One morning on his wav to teach, Luks saw a street vendor who appeared to have "pictorial possibilities." With the aid of students, Luks transported man and vegetable cart up three flights of stairs to his studio where Luks immedi ately began to paint. From an interview with Mr. Dike and this writer, November 26, 1977, Redlands., California. See Appendix A.
3por further discussion of The Verdict and politi cal cartoons, see Chapter 2, pp. 28~. 12 well-established tradition of American art, which can be
traced back to the obvious early example, Winslow Homer.
In the 1860s Homer recorded the events of the Civil War for
Harper's Weekly, and documented as well the individual within the American scene. During the post-Civil War period newly perfected
processes of printing promoted the circulation of hundreds of new publications.4 Such publications began to use photo-
chemical processes for illustrations, such as the half-
tone, which replaced wood engraving, the medium employed so beautifully by Homer. 5 Illustrators were increasingly in demand as the need for illustrations in mass publications
grew. Homer, who remained independently concerned with objective, reportorial realism, was one of the artists who documented social types. His Cavalry Soldier of 1863
(Plate 7), is.a sensitive, personalized sketch in black
chalk which conveys, among other things, the idea that the
cavalry was a collective entity made up of unique persons.
Later in the century, Luks, as an artist-illustrator during
4In 1868 the invention of the rotary perfecting press permitted both sides of a sheet to be printed. By 1875 the photoengraving industry was initiated, and in 1881 the screening of half-tones was developed. By 1886 the linotype was in operation, allowing the casting of full lines of type, and ten years later, in 1896, the invention of the monotype made possible the casting and setting of type individually. Frank Denman, "Printing," Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. XXII (New York: Americana Corporation, 1960), p. 592.
5E. Maurice Bloch, "Introduction," The American Personality (Los Angeles: The Grunwald Center for the Graphic·Arts, UCLA, 1976), p. 20. 13 the Spanish-American War, was also to document the indi vidual soldier.
Luks sketched a specific man affected by the dehumanizing results of war for the Philadelphia Evening
Bulletin, in 1896, in "An Insurgent Standard Bearer" (Plate
8). A comparison of the two sketches demonstrates differ ences between the two artists. Homer's soldier, withdrawn from battle for the moment, appears introspective. The image, through Homer's abilities as a draftsman, conveys a mood of contemplation in the midst of war. Luks' in-surgent, drawn from life as Luks' note indicates, is posed for the artist in a manner characteristic of Luks' oil paintings, and looks out at the viewer (in this case the readers of a widely circulated metropolitan newspaper). Homer's sketch has a private, intimate quality, while Luks' drawing has an impersonal air, although both were drawn for publications.
The difference in mood may be attributed to both the dif ferent temperaments of the artists and the changing role of the individual.
As the process of urbanization continued, the dream of an agrarian America faded, and by 1890 it was noted in the United States Census that the days of the frontier had passed. Frederick Jackson Turner, in his account of the influence of the frontier on American culture, suggests that it was to be associated with regeneration, the fluid ity of American life, westward expansion, and new economic 14
opportunities.6 Once the frontier and its accompanying characterists were gone, the complex factors of city life became more evident. The center of economic and political life had gravitated from the country to the city, and with the growth of big business, the modern labor movement began.
Waves of immigration provided a heterogeneous group of workers along with class conflict, labor disputes, and strikes. The centralization of power and popula±ion in cities contributed to such urban realities as slums, trusts, corruption, race and class prejudice, the breakdown of law and order, andan uneven distribution of wealth. American artists began to reflect these developments in the content of their paintings, drawings, and cartoons. Luks responded to the colorful, crowded atmosphere of the urban community with Hester Street of 1905 (Plate 9). Although most of his paintings were of individuals or pairs of individuals, this example suggests the complexities and multiplicities of the urban scene by the crowded composition and the many centers of interest.
Thomas Eakins, like Luks, responded to the actuali- ties of American life through his realistic treatment of subject matter. He played an important role in the develop- ment of realism in American art, and prepared the way for
6Frederick Jackson Turner, "Statement of the Frontier Thesis," The Frontier Thesis, ed. Ray Billington (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1966), p. 10. 15
Luks and others. Eakins, as a teacher at the Pennsylvania
Academy of Fine Arts, inspired a large student following with his innovative teaching methods. He used live models
in his drawing classes and emphasized the spontaneous,
realistic recording of observable fact. With uncompromising honesty and a clear portrayal of the American scene, Eakins
provided the foundation upon which later artists such as
Luks would build. Walt Whitman said of Eakins: "I never knew but one artist, and that's Tom Eakins, who could resist
the temptation to see what they think ought to be rather
than what is. 11 7
The relationship between Luks and Eakins can be demonstrated in a comparison of two efforts by these artists. Eakins' The Wrestlers, 1899 {Plate 10), is a monu mental painting of two athletes, and illustrates the artist's concern for form and structure of the human body.
Six years later, Luks, in attempting to achive the "gusto 11
for which he was known, painted The Wrestlers, 1905 (Plate
11), which is his earthy, more personalized version of the
same subject. Foregoing the classical monumentality which accompanies Eakins' realism in favor of a more animal-like description of the athletes, Luks reveals a strong per-
sonal identification with the subject matter.
?Fairfield Porter, Thomas Eakins {New York: George Braziller, Inc., 1959), p. 24. 16
Although there are specific differences between the
styles of Eakins and Luks, both artists participated in
representing the changing images of the individual in Ameri-
can society. Both were involved with the realistic por-
trayal of subject matter and reacted to the rapidly changing
social conditions in America, Luks in particular responding
to the impact of urban pressures. During the time of
Eakins, Americans were able to maintain their individuality.
During the time of Luks, with the increased pace of urban
life, the individual became less integrated and unique, and
more anonymous and alienated in his social relationships.
Each artist perceived the American scene through his own
personal vision and then. responded artistically. Luks com-
municated the de-humanizing process through his selection
and interpretation of subject matter, while Eakins docu- mented the nineteenth century American.
While attending the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine
Arts in 1884, Luks enrolled in a class taught by Thomas
Anshutz. The Academy files contain a letter written by
Luks in 1918 which states that Anshutz had been his best
teacher. Luks writes:
I am very proud to be the possessor of this much coveted honor and especially since the Academy is where I first studied and met with the best art instructor (Anschutz) [sic] I have ever had the "good" fortune to encounter.8
8Letter written by Luks, June 28, 1918, from the files of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Phila delphia, Pennsylvania. 17
The account of Luks' teacher provides insight into the
philosophy of art to which Luks was exposed in his forma-
tive years. In 1881 Anshutz became an instructor at the
Pennsylvania Academy, as an assistant to Eakins. In 1886
he succeeded Eakins as the principal instructor in Anatomy,.
Drawing, and Painting, and in 1909 he succeeded William
Merritt Chase as the Director of the Academy.
In no document yet brought to light did Anshutz
mention any indebtedness or acknowledge any influence of
Eakins, whether in his teaching or in his painting, yet the
debt is apparent and intrinsic.9 Ruth Bowman says that,
"Although Anshutz' mind lacked the introspection _and the
intellectual range of Eakins' he was strongly influenced by
his teacher's naturalism and assimilated many of his art
attitudes."lO From the beginning of his teaching career,
he tried to reach his students and to motivate them as
individuals. According to Anshutz:
The class will always learn more from its own members than from its teacher. To sit down and criticize a beginner's work is a difficult task. There is nothing to criticize and they expect to be told how to draw. If they are told they cannot understand and if you make a drawing for them they cannot follow your method of thought. And so they
9Leslie Katz, "The Breakthrough of Anshutz," Arts Magazine, Vol. 37, No. 6 (March 1976), 26.
lORuth Bowman, "Nature, The Photograph and Thomas Anshutz," Art Journal, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Fall, 1973), 38. 18
think your eye is good and your hand trained and they set to work to train their own.ll
Continuing the teaching tradition of Eakins, Anshutz transmitted to his students the importance of live models, the ability to paint rather than draw with the brush, and the need for direct confrontation with subject matter. As a teacher of Henri, Luks, Sloan, Glackens, and others, he is the connecting link between Eakins and the Eight group.l2
Luks' own value as a teacher will be discussed later in this study.l3 Although Luks' philosophy and methods of teaching were different from those of his mentor, the attitude of
Anshutz toward his subject matter seems to have been of considerable influence on Luks. In Ironworkers at Noontime, ca. 1882 (Plate 3), Anshutz employes his skill in composi- tion and figural presentat·ion, and more importantly he pays homage to the subject of the American worker, pointing the way for the commitment of certain twentieth century artists, including Luks, to document the individual in urban America.
llrbid.
12In 1908 Robert· Henri, George Luks, William Glackens, John Sloan, and Everett Shinn, together with Arthur B. Davies, Ernest Lawson, and Maurice Prendergast, joined forces to exhibit together, for the first and only time. These artists were labelled the "Eight," and the significance of the group rests in the individuality of its members and their joint act of revolt in American art against jury-selected shows. See Milton Brown, American Painting from the Armory Show to the Depression (New Jersey: Princeton University Press;-1955), p. 38.
l3see Chapter 3, pp. 63-67. 19
After studying briefly at the Pennsylvania Academy,
Luks travelled to Europe where he visited Dusseldorf,
Munich, Paris, and London. Returning to America, in 1894, he worked as an illustrator for the Philadelphia Press, where his colleagues in the art department were John Sloan,
Everett Shinn, and William Glackens. As artist-reporters these men served as veritable human cameras, which resulted in the sharpening of their memories and perceptive skills.
They observed news events, determined the important facts and quickly rendered these for their editors.
In 1896, during the Spanish-American War, Luks worked for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, where he had the opportunity to travel to Cuba for a three-month period as the illustrator for the correspondent Maurice·O'Leary.l4
Accounts of Luks' adventures in Cuba are colorful and divulge several.facets of his personality. Luks may have been a physical coward who rarely, if ever, went near the front lines, but gathered his information second-hand and made most of his sketches of the war while in the saloons of Havana.lS In any event, he was able to produce dramatic pictorial reports for his paper. He completed twenty-nine pen and ink sketches (at times complemented by soft shades of wash) which were published in a double column on the
14Bennard Perlman, The Immortal Eight (New York: Exposition Press, 1962), p.-a?. 15Ibid. 20
first page of the Bulletin. It is possible that the par- ticularly vivid "The Battle of January 29" (Plate 12), which appeared in the February 15, 1896 edition, is one of
Luks' rare first-hand accounts of the war. Luks may have witnessed such a battle while on a train with author
Stephen Crane. One account of the trip describes Luks as so frightened by the sound of gunfire that he jumped under a seat.l6 Perhaps, having personally experienced such dan- ger, he was able to dramatically illustrate the war incident for Bulletin readers. The sketch goes beyond being repor- torial and objective, and thereby creates a greater sense of action than the observations of a camera.
During his early years in Philadelphia, Luks was one of a group of artists who .met weekly at Henri's studio.
According to Sloan, the "Philadelphia Four," Luks, Sloan,
Shinn, and Glackens, were encouraged by Henri to pursue painting in their spare time. However, as Sloan indicates,
Luks denied Henri's role as a catalyst, "just took up painting on his own," and "would never admit any influence of Henri's had anything to do with his sudden decision to paint. 11 17 A student of Anshutz for two years, Henri influ- enced the development of modernism in American art before
16rbid., pp. 87-88.
17John Sloan, "Artists of the Press," Artists of the Philadelphia Press (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1945), pp. 7-8. 21
the Armory Show of 1913. He commanded his followers to both record and experience life. Henri's ideas on the relationship between art and life provided the theoretical basis from which Luks could formulate his own philosophy and style, and, in general, Henri helped to create the ambiance within which Luks could record the life around him, express his own concerns, and document the American scene.
Henri was influenced by ·the philosophies of Whitman and Emerson. Along with Whitman he believed in the concept of the American artist who uses the American experience with understanding in order to express an American point of view. 1 8 Luks reflected this philosophy and spoke about the need for American artists to stay in the United States and deal with subject matter with which they had first hand familiarity. 19 Henri's attitudes about art and life are similarly shared by Luks, as manifest in the latter's artistic achievements:
18Robert Henri, "Progress in Our National Art Must Spring from the Development of Individuality of Ideas and Freedom of Expression: A Suggestion for a New Art School," The Craftsman, Vol. 15, No. 4 (January 1909), 389. 19Luks said, "Paint where you are is the wise rule for the artist. What need of going to other lands in quest of subjects to paint? In a single city block, a mile of New Jersey or New England lane, a Pittsburgh factory, or a single Western landscape, the true artist will find enough material for a lifetime, enough to fill a hundred years." From an interview with Luks by John Spargo: "George Luks, an American Painter of Great Originality and Force Whose Art Relates to All the Experiences and Interests of Life," The Craftsman, Vol. 12, No. 6 (September 1907), 602. 22
After all, the goal is not making art. It is living a life .. Those who live their lives will leave the stuff that is really art. Art is a result. It is the trace of those who have led their lives.20
This study will now turn to a more detailed discussion of Luks' achievements in the "popular" arts.
20Henri, Art Spirit, p. 153. Chapter 2
COMICS, POLITICAL CARTOONS, MAGAZINE SKETCHES AND DRAWINGS: LUKS' COMMENTARY ON THE URBAN AMERICAN SCENE
Luks' contributions to understanding American soci-
ety are noteworthy in his comics, political cartoons,
magazine sketches and drawings, in which he documents indi-
vidual social types within the urban scene. In political
· cartoons Luks refers to the American search for truth, fair-
ness, and justice in public life and government. He por-
trays the common man as victim of political bosses,
imperialism, and big business monopolies. With humor he
calls attention to injustices and inequalities in his con=
temporary society.
By April, 1896, Luks had moved from Philadelphia to
New York where he worked for the New York World, first as
a news illustrator and then as a replacement for R. H.
Outcault, creator of the weekly comic page, "The Yellow
Kid~ ril · In 1898 and 1899 Luks worked as political cartoonist
for the journal The Verdict. His activities as a news
illustrator and cartoonist developed his insight into human
behavior.
lThe weekly page was known variously as "Hogan's Alley," "The Yellow Kid," and "McFadden's Flats."
23 24
The requirement of daily newspapers forced staff artists to draw under pressure of press deadlines, and demanded skill in the expression of ideas, sometimes at the expense of quality draftsmanship. It is not the intent of this study to state that Luks was a superb cartoonist, but rather to explore his ability to document the American scene through this "popular" art form. The political car- toons for The Verdict had a smaller, more specialized audience than the comics Luks drew for the New York World, in which issues that were less controversial were treated.
According to Stuart, the level of group stress distinguishes the comic from the political cartoon.2 This would seem to be the case in an account of Luks' comics and political cartoons.
Following the Civil War the reading public had become noticeably attracted to humor, and journals used comic columns to increase their circulation. By 1910, an
American sense of humor was described by.one writer in part as follows:
True American humor, while it may deal lightly with some ceremony or grave superstition in which the question of real veneration is not involved, contains no irreverence. It is neither self conscious nor flippant.3
2Irving R. Stuart, "Iconography of Group Personality Dynamics: Caricatures and Cartoons," The Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 64 (October 1964), 14~
3Katherine Roof, "The American Sense of Humor," ed. Roderick Nash, The Call of the Wild, 1900-1916 (New York: George Braziller;-1970) ,-p.-rG9-.--- 25
Comics and cartoons became the vehicle through which the human situation could be portrayed, discussed, and evalu ated.4
The comic section of the newspaper, still popular today, was developed and expanded during Luks' lifetime.
Newspapers competed for readers in the 1890s, and the full page comic developed as part of publishers' efforts to enlarge the circulation of their papers. Newspapers began printing colored comics as supplements to Sunday editions.
These did not consist of comic strips with their series of separate pictures so familiar to us today, but rather were full page in format with many characters and much action.
In New York the term "yellow press" came into use as the result of a contest that took place between the two publishers Hearst and Pulitzer. According to one account,
Mrs. Joseph Pulitzer suggested to her husband that he use a humorous character from an almanac sketch as a central figure for a series of adventures to be printed in the colored supplement of the New York World. Richard Felton
Outcault was hired to draw the comic, and the famous
"Yellow Kid" was the result. Hearst, having purchased the
New York Journal, wanted to compete with his rival, and ultimately engaged Outcault to work for his papers. With
4Frank Luther Mott, American Journalism (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1962), p. 526. 26 this development, the World hired Luks to continue drawing the adventures of the "Yellow Kid," a silly character with a toothless, vacant grin, who always wore a flowing yellow dress. Thus, the comic character led a double life, and it was at that moment in history that each of the two news- papers was designated as the "yellow press."
The drawing of comics permitted Luks to indulge his innate sense of humor and to provide material that met his readers' needs for coping with the trials and tribulations of daily living, as well as for identifying social condi- tions and problems. According to Gombrich, 11 the cartoons' most significant quality is its ability to encapsulate, to sum up--to summarize a complex situation in one (scene) ."5
This summarizing quality is demonstrated by Luks in "A Hot
Election Day in Hogan's Alley" (Plate 13}, from the Sunday edition of the New York World of November 1, 1896. Using the city neighborhood and its indigenous "kids," Luks reduces the machinations of the political campaign to the level of children at play. The comic scene fills the entire page. The sign in the lower right center, reads: "I'M
OUTFUR DE DOE AND I'LL SELL DE JOB TO ENY CHUMB WHOSE GOT
DE PRISE NIT KEEP DE CHANGE." There is reference to poli- tical graft throughout. The neighborhood "kids" and the street environment become the concrete, visual setting
5E. H. Gombrich, Meditations on a Hobby Horse (London: Phaidon Publishers, 1963), ~ 131. 27
against which to discuss contemporary political problems.
At the most elementary level, the activities of the "kids"
can be enjoyed by the youngest readers. The reference to
barrels of money and the suggestion that politics is a game
imply questions of ethics and morality. This particular
comic seems to be preparation for Luks' later work for The
Verdict.
The images of individuals in the urban scene in
Luks' oil paintings are more generally depicted than are
those in Luks' comics. The generally humorous cartoon, "A
Hot Election Day in Hogan's Alley" (Plate 13), presents a
sophisticated awareness and understanding of the potential
and evident corruption possible in political life and
thereby makes social co~entary similar to that of the
later openly political editorial cartoons.6 Luks suggests
the bitter truth that the "Yellow Kid" and his friends have
learned at an early age to play a crafty game in order to
insure political success. This comic was published three weeks prior to the election of Republican William McKinley
to the Presidency.
Luks spoke out on his attitude towards his work as
a cartoonist:
I have utterly no patience with the fellow whose "style" is ruined if he must make drawings
6John Atkins Richardson, The Complete Book of Car tooning (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1977), p. 139. 28
for newspapers or advertisements . . • to get bread. Making commercial drawings and especially doing newspaper work, gives an artist unlimited experience, teaches him life, brings him out. If it doesn't there was nothing to bring him out, that's all.?
This statement verifies the lack of conflict in Luks' mind between "popular" and "fine" art and foreshadows the twentieth century fusion of the two traditions. With the influence of mass communication, the art audience in
America grew larger and became more democratic. Taste for nineteenth century realism came partly out of exposure of the populus to magazines, newspapers, and journals.
During the same period in which Luks drew the
"Yellow Kid" for the New York World, he also illustrated news stories for the paper. In one such reportorial draw- ing, "Barbarous Cruelty of a Turkish Governor" (Plate 14),
Luks dramatizes the gruesome news article which it accom- panies. Skill in draftsmanship and knowledge of human anatomy are evident, and aid in an accurate portrayal of the Turkish police, although the Turks are stereotyped by fezzes and moustach,es. While many readers of the news- papers may have only skimmed the written report, they would have become keenly aware of what had happened through Luks' powerful drawing.
Luks' political cartoons offer insight into problems of the period and the artist's own response to them, and
?Rowland McKinny, The Eight (New York: Metropoli tan ~1useum, 1954) . , no pag. 29
they are therefore useful for discovering more about Luks.
As a viable member of society, the artist creates political cartoons representative of society's attitudes, beliefs, and emotions.8 The danger, deprivation, and frustration which he experiences living in society as it undergoes stress may be "present in some essential aspects of his creation during such a period."9 The last two decades of the nineteenth century have been characterized as a visual age. Prints, cartoons, and photographs were produced in great number, and technological developments transformed their traditional appearance. 10 Wide circulation of news- papers and popular magazines suggest that mass communica- tion was influential in the formation of public opinion during the two decades prior to the twentieth century.
In 1884 one of the first series of political car- toons to appear in a daily newspaper was published by the
New York World, in which James G. Blaine, running against
Grover Cleveland, was ridiculed in his candidacy for the presidency.11 Sunday supplements, with magazine sections and
8stuart, p. 149.
9rbid., p. 154.
lONeil Harris, The Land of Contrasts, 1880-1901 (New York: George Braziller;-1970), p. 7.
llrsabel Simeral Johnson, Contemporary Cartoons (San Marino, California: Huntington Library, 1937), p. 6. 30 comics, became popular reading matter in newspapers.
Varied pictorial representations were visual diversions and at the same time permitted artists to convey serious social criticism as they depicted the human situation in the guise of humor.
The cartoonist's ability to connnunicate abstractions· and to synthesize ideas within the format of the cartoon is enhanced through the use of visual symbols familiar to the readers.l2 The caricature as a device of the cartoonist adds to the artist's arsenal of expressions.l3 Luks used the technique of caricature frequently in political car- toons. For example, in "Uncle Sam: 'I'm Ready to Join this Peace Conference'" {Plate 6), he exaggerates the facial features of world leaders, making them appear humorous, but maintaining their recognizability. In caricature the artist deals with truth as he sees it, often revealing unpleasant aspects of his subject's behavior.l4 Because caricature is satirical and has a close relationship to life, including the quality of moral connnent, its function
12Gombrich, Meditations on a Hobby Horse, p. 127.
13caricature implies the exaggeration of particular facial or other features of a person for expressive reasons. 14Anniabale Carracci (1560-1609} is credited with having originated the caricature tradition in Bologna, Italy at the end of the sixteenth century. Rudolf Wittkower, Art and Architecture in Italy, 1600-1750 {Baltimore:--penguin Books, Ltd.-,-1973), p. 41. 31
is more utilitarian than other forms of pure art.l5
As indicated earlier in the discussion,l6 Luks was
responsible for many of the large political cartoons that
appeared weekly in The Verdict, a journal published over a
two-year period (1898-1899). The Verdict, which was pub-
lished by Oliver H. P. Belmont, was a satirical-political publication, similar to Judge and Puck. Its cover and cen terspread consisted of political cartoons printed in color.
Editor.Alfred Henry Lewis considered The Verdict a serious
political instrument and directed its efforts to oppose the
Vanderbilt interests, to show concern for New York City's
transportation problems, to oppose Cleveland's bid for the
Presidency and to reluctantly endorse Bryan.l7 Lu~s' car-
toons dealt with problems of trusts and monopolies, imperi-
alism, and political graft. Treating contemporary issues
concerning politics and urban growth, The Verdict's edi-
torial policy proclaimed, 11 Truth will be the watchword, the
password, as well as the sole, whole support of this ·paper.nl8 An editorial in the first issue clearly indicated
15E. H. Gombrich and Ernest Kris, Caricature (Hammondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books Ltd., 1940), p. 10. 16see Page 23.
17Alfred Henry Lewis, ed., The Verdict (New York), Vol .. 1, No. 1 (December 19, 1898), 3:-
18Frank Luther Matt, A History of American Maga zines, 1885-1905, Vol, IV (Cambr1dge, Massachusetts_:__ Harvard University Press, 1957), p. 386. 32
that Mark Hanna, political boss, would be critized along with President McKinley, and that the journal's political preference was for the Democratic party.l9
The United States was an involved world power by
1898. Political reforms and imperialism provided Americans with an outlet for energies which once had been directed toward the expanding frontier. The Spanish-American War permitted the United States to declare itself a military power. The acquisition of the territories of the Philip pines, Puerto Rico, and Guam und!=rlined American imperialist expansion. The theme of imperialism is well illustrated by
Luks in The Verdict cartoon of August 14, 1899, "The
Imperialism Stunt" (Plate 15). The personification of
"Liberty" walks a tightrope between. the United States and the Philippines. The use of such motifs as "Liberty" and
"Uncle Sam" is an indication of Luks' assumption that his viewers understand these images as symbols.20 Here, the artist, as a member of society under stress, illustrates the danger, deprivation, and frustration which he observes in that society.21
The political writer must exercise restraint and dignity. In contrast, the political cartoonist tells the
19 Ibid. I p . 4 .
20stuart, p. 150.
21 Ibid . , p . 15 4 . 33
truth as he and his fellow countrymen see and feel it. 22
As the court jester has certain latitude, so the cartoonist may take liberties.23 Under the guise of humor and wit he directly reveals what he believes to be true. According to
Gombrich:
The cartoonist can mythologize the world of politics by "physiognomizing" it. By linking the mythological with the real he creates that fusion, that amalgam, that seems so convincing to the emotional mind. 2 4 ·
Luks demonstrates this linking in "The Imperialism Stunt."
The real problems of imperialism, clearly stated in mytho- logical fashion, are visualized, personified, and thereby communicated vividly. "Liberty" must be careful on her tightrope, lest she fall, and the rights and freedoms of the countries involved be diminished.
The seriousness of Luks' intent in The Verdict is well illustrated in the personal caricature of Mark Hanna, political boss. Hanna secured the nomination of William
McKinley for President at the Republican convention of 1896, and subsequently conducted two successful Presidential campaigns.
22Paul Conrad, cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times, in a television interview, Channel 2, 6:55~m., November 29, stated that the cartoonist says what the man in the street would say and does not simply illustrate the news. 23Gombrich, Meditations on a Hobby Horse, p. 139.
24rbid. 34
The March 18, 1899 issue of The Verdict carried the following political cartoon: "Hanna: 'That Man Clay
Was an Ass! It's Better to Be President Than to Be Right!'"
(Plate 16). Hanna's power and ability to control McKinley's election are decisively communicated. The viewer needs specific knowledge about the sociopolitical situation of the time in order for the political cartoon to have its impact. A framed portrait of Henry Clay hangs on the wall.
An inscription shaped like a halo emphasizes the angelic aspect of the motto, "I Would Rather Be Right than Presi dent!" Luks portrays Hanna with a huge, glittering stick pin in the fashion of Diamond Jim Brady. The dollar signs on Hanna's ear lobe and thumb reinforce the image of eco nomic power. Hanna instructs McKinley that honesty and fair dealing can be set aside in the wedding of big busi ness and government. In this political cartoon, which represents the editorial position of The Verdict, Luks makes use of his knowledge of American history.
The August 21, 1899 cover of The Verdict carried a full page political cartoon by Luks, captioned, "The Way We
Get the War News - Manila Correspondent and the McKinley
Censorship" (Plate 17). The war correspondent, confined by ball and chains, secured in the· room by barred windows, is instructed to write a news release by several burly, sword carrying characters. Political boss Hanna surveys the scene from a portrait. Rejected versions of the 35 correspondent's war report spill out of a wastebasket onto the floor. In this cartoon Luks questions the violation of freedom of the press in a democracy. His experiences as an artist-reporter during the Spanish~American War gave him first-hand knowledge of the reporter's struggle to maintain freedom of the press. The Verdict proclaimed partisan sup port for the Democratic party, and its criticism of
McKinley's censorship regulations was intended to cast gen eral discredit on the Republican party's attitude toward the press.
Luks' ability to express a political point of view through visual images is well demonstrated in a double page cartoon in The Verdict of July 3, 1899. The artist paro dies the Republican party's political campaign as a circus, using the caption "The Coming Republican Circus Has A Dress
Rehearsal" (Plate 18). The reader needs to know the his torical cast of characters to adequately understand the intended message. McKinley sits on Hanna's lap in the
"Manager's Box," while Teddy Roosevelt, as a trapeze artist, swings from the governor's position to that of the unreach able "Presidential" perch.
As a chronicler and critic of his times, Luks astutely observes and comments, and thereby visually docu ments his awareness of social issues. Murrell says, "The political cartoon is designed to make something ridiculous, not merely laughable. Ridicule may sting one into taking 36
action, but the comic releases one from the obligation of
acting."25 The Verdict cartoons express strong feelings
and are particulary effective in the context of social and
political satire and criticism. According to Peter Selz:
• significant form is rarely of concern to the man out to ridicule or destroy his political enemy, yet political art can achieve the intensities and heights of greatness to be found in the works of Hogarth, Goya, Daumier, George Grosz, John Heartfield and Picasso.26
Political cartoons use wit and satire to deal with life,
truth, and ugliness. Luks' ability to confront life and
reality is also evident in his drawings and paintings. His
concern with reporting the daily occurrences of life around
him was typical of the group of artists with whom he
associated.
When Luks worked for newspapers, preparing cartoons,
comics, or reportorial illustrations, he knew these works would be seen by large numbers of readers. In the museum or gallery experience, the relationship between viewer and art object is limited to the object and a limited number of viewers.27 However, Stuart observes that in creating art for mass publication, "It is contended that the forces which
25william Murrell, History of American Graphic Humor (New York: Whitney Museum of-xiDrican Art, 1967), p. 4. 26Thomas c. Blaidsell and Peter Selz, The American Presidency in Political Cartoons (Berkeley, California: University Art Museum, 1976), p. 11. 27stuart, p. 147. 37
favor the creation of such pictures restate the emotions
conunon to the group via a visible and tangible medium."28
Luks' political cartoons for The Verdict relate to his concept of the public for whom he was drawing, that is, his "image of the people-"29 The public existed in his mind
as a group possessing specific beliefs and ideologies to which he appealed with the intent to change or reinforce attitudes and ultimately to influence votes. The content of the cartoons emanates from subject matter available in contemporary society, and this is also true of his por-
traits in oil. The admonition of Robert Henri for artists to paint life directed Henri's followers, including the
Philadelphia Four, to focus on social issues in a democracy.
Thus, they tended to be blind to other points of view.
Clark says ". . . before our eyes depiction changes into ideology.n30 The simple images evoked by Luks in his car- toons are deceptive. The breezy, sketch-like style may cover a deeper sensitivity to sociological problems. Luks and other cartoonists are able to change public opinion to the extent that their cartoons modify attitudes and direct action through the election process.
28rbid.
29T. J. Clark, Image of the People (Greenwich, Connecticut: New York Graphic Society, Ltd., 1973), p. 16.
30rbid. 38
During the 1920s, some two decades after The Ver- diet, artists began to comment on the affluent American middle class. Some of Luks' sketches of social types pub- lished in Vanity Fair, emphasize the de-humanizing and stereotyping classifications prevalent in daily urban living at that time. Mass publications continued to vali- date the evolving American social character in word and visual image. Kavolis observes:
By reflecting social reality, art content seems to provide expressive reinforcement of its legiti macy. By [spontaneously] failing to reflect social reality, art expresses a symbolic denial of the cultural validity--or "legitimacy"--of it.31
Vanity Fair magazine was published in New York from
1914 to 1936 by Conde Nast. Its impact was particularly strong in the 1920s when it recap~ured "the stat~ly white tie-and-tailed elegance of a fast by-going Edwardian era."32
The magazine was published for upper-middle class Americans in transition "between the old Four Hundred and the new
Smart Set."33 The upward mobility of its readers mani- fested itself in an interest in manners and modes rather than in morals and ethics. In a discussion of the 1920s,
3lvytautas Kavalis, "Art Content and Social Involve ment," Journal of Social Forces, Vol. 42, No. 4 (~1ay 1964), 468.
32cleveland Amory, "Introduction--A Fair Kept," eds., Cleveland Amory and Frederic Bradlee, Vanity Fair (New York: The Viking Press, 1960), p. 7. 33Ibid. 39
sociologist Robert Park wrote:
The study of etiquette replaced the study of human nature •..•. the individual's status is determined by a considerable degree of conven tional signs--by fashion and "front"--and the art of life is largely reduced to skating on thin surfaces and a scrupulous study of style and manners.34
Luks seemed to be particularly interested in the dramatic aspects of the human condition early in his career, especially in paintings such as The Old Duchess (Plate 5) and The Sand Artist (Plate 22), both of 1905. In contrast, his later sketches of social types for Vanity Fair, as will be demonstrated in the discussion to follow, are more humor- ous in nature. As he had elsewhere, Luks documented the contemporary urban individual. This artistic achievement within the medium of magazine illustration did not go unob- served by art historian Jerome Mellquist.
Here, throughout the twenties, and even as late as 1930, old George Luks could bludgeon a headwaiter, a golfer, a literary hack or a drunk, and do so with a laughter which explained itself completely in the drawing. His range was considerable, too. Once, in a page devoted to children on Washington Square, he could note the loss of amour propre in a tiny tot with a running nose, chuckle, and yet be kind about it. It is this larger humanity one misses in The New Yorker cartoons--no less than the first-thing first of the drawing itself. Some day Luks' work in this category will be collected and it will make him a new reputation, as a humorist.35
34Robert E. Park, and others, The C·i ty (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1967), p.~.----
35Jerome Mellquist, The Emergence of an American Art (New York: Kennikat Press, 1989), p. 173.---- 40
This assessment of Luk.s' work for Vanity Fair seems accu rate and it is reinforced in the discussion that follows.
Mellquist suggests that Peter Arno, a contemporary of Luks who drew for The New Yorker, had greater need for the use of captions to clarify his drawings, while Luks' draftsman ship ·stands by itself.36
The foregoing observation regarding Luks' skill is generally perceptive, although Luks did demonstrate varied quality of .draftsmanship and clarity in the Vanity Fair sketches. The drawings can often be understood without ver- bal explanations, as for example in the study Seen on Any
Free Day in Any Art Gallery (Plate 19). Although the title does serve to specify the figures, this visual survey of those attending a gallery exhibition consists of clearly defined images. The Poet-Aesthete-Critic leers lascivi- ously at the female image on the wall, completely engrossed in his art experience. The Lady Watercolorist is a shy woman whose taste in art would stereotypically tend towards
Bougereau and Gerome. Here the viewer encounters social type-casting with satirical connotations. The Man of Taste is smiling, charming, and overweight, the figure of an extroverted personality. He points with the authority which is required of the convincing art conoisseur. The Old Guard seems skeptical of modern art as he leans back from the
36rbid. 41 paintings and ponders what he sees. His face is set in a disapproving scowl. The Measurer, the largest figure in the series, has an aggressive body stance, and his facial expression is one of intense concentration. Luks and the caption writer, who in all probability was not Luks, com ment on two phenomena simultaneously: the description of persons who have come to view "modern art," and the use of identifiable social types to comment negatively on this art.
In the page of drawings, Br·ingers of Light: The
Professors (Plate 20), Luks categorizes college professors into specific, personality types. The figures are drawn satirically and the accompanying captions are equally satirical. Luks assumes that professors are different from the rest of the population and inaccessible. The professor of anthropology, Livingston Black, is described as a man of strength and mystery. His figure is firm and stocky, and the strange creature he holds behind his back is some anthropological find whose possible genetic connection to the students in the class may be an uncomfortable fact.
Mellquist singled out The Children's Hour in
Washington Square (Plate 21) in his discussion of Luks' sketches because of its "larger humanity." In this set of drawings the captions seem less satirical and stereotyped than others in the Vanity Fair collection. These studies of children are reminiscent of those which occur in Luks' 42 paintings. In one sketch, that of "Toodles" in The Chil- dren's Hour, the facial features resemble those of The
Sand Artist (Plate 22) .
In the series of illustrations for The Mixed Grill
Served Daily at the Ritz (Plate 23) , Luks gives the readers of Vanity Fair a wonderfully candid set of images of social types. During the 1920s the social importance of being seen in the "right" places by the ·upward mobile middle classes was well recognized. The lobby, restaurant-grill, and bar of a posh hotel in New York City were popular places to be seen by one's social equals and betters. Luks displays his perceptive insights and powers of observation in each of several figures. The center sketch, E. Jones and ~vife,
~, presents Mr. Jones, as an awkward visitor from the mid-West, demanding an early, if unfashionable, dinner hour.
Jones is accompanied by his over-dressed and over-stuffed wife. The caption demonstrates the writer's skill in imply ing the Iowan's unsophisticated practice of dining early.
Here, artist and writer have joined together to reinforce a regional stereotype of the unsophisticated mid-Westerner appearing out of place on a visit to New York City.
Early in his career Luks developed an interest in the game of polo. The polo sketches illustrated in Polo:
A Few Motion Pictures by George Luks (Plate 24), indicates
Luks' ability at rendering movement. The horses and polo players seem to move across and in and out of this page 43 from Vanity Fair. The central sketch provides a superb example of this illusion. In no other paintings or draw- ings by Luks does this same lyrical feeling occur. It is as though the game of polo had transformed Luks into another realm, and that the horse and rider had become one integrated form. In this case, to attempt to identify or type-cast interferes with Luks' use of line to express motion and the spirit of the game.
In both drawings and paintings Luks was interested in the dramatic qualities of his subjects. "With Luks, painting was an extension of his drawings. These he did naturally and effortlessly, they were an expression of his own exuberance and dynamic nature."37 He captured indi- viduals by generalizing and type-casting both character and personality. Luks' early experiences as an artist- reporter led him to develop his skill at shorthand, typo- logical sketches, and throughout his career he continued to record his subject matter in this way. "Page by page of his sketchbook revealed the sequence of his movements about the city.n38
37Joseph S. Trovato, "About the Exhibition," George Luks 1866-1933 (Utica, New York: Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, 1973), p. 18. 38Everett Shinn, "Everett Shin on George Luks: An Unpublished Memoir," Archives of American Art, Vol. 6, No. 2 (April 1966), 5. 44
The Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute Collection contains fine examples of Luks' penchant.for categorizing.
The·subject matter includes representatives of the New York
City population, who, in their own ways illustrate the evolving social character of the urban American.
Luke recorded the social significance of attending an art exhibit in At------the Taft Exhibition (Plate 25). This pencil sketch demonstrates how Luks, with energetic lines, can render an image of the snobbish spectator, finely dressed and eager to be observed as much as to observe.
Another drawing, in blue crayon, simply titled Fat Woman
(Plate 26), provides the viewer with a subject who is rotund in profile and who commands a solid, almost manu- mental presence.
Spring in the Woods (Plate 27) , apparently quickly rendered by the artist, depicts a romantic pair who might have been found at one time in Central Park on a Sunday afternoon. Luks' humorous sensitivity to the human condi- tion appears in the suitor with his sad face, perhaps just recently rejected by the prim, fair maiden. Luks perpetu- ates the sentimentality of the male-female relationship of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Type-casting in sketches permits Luks to generalize figures rather than portray specific likenesses of indi- viduals. In the oil paintings generalizing makes the par- traits more enduring, while in the drawings this quality 45 conveys the sense of urban anonymity and alienation. The sense of loneliness in the big city is seen in Plate 28, where a single figure is seated on a long park bench, while to the right a separate pair of figures is seated. Luks did not usually render sad, poignant figures, but in this example he shows his ability to deal with emotions. Fur ther, he was interested in the visual possibilities and challenges of working with pairs of figures. Plate 29, figure 106, shows a pair of men, backs to the viewer, and a couple, the man's arm around the woman's waist, their bacl
Spielers, The Wrestlers, The Secret, Jack and Russell Burke, and The Guitar.
The simple images evoked by Luks in his sketches are deceptive. His knowledge of particular occupations within the city permitted him to synthesize specific characteris tics into the depiction of social types as described in the preceeding discussion. Sociologists refer to the city as a "state of mind."39 Park and Burgess describe the city
39park and others, The City, p. 1. 46
as a body of customs and traditions, of organized attitudes and sentiments which inhere in these customs and are trans- mitted with this tradition. The specialization of labor and the definition of roles based upon specific vocations appears to condition the development of social types. The city is an expression of human nature.40 As the city takes shape, the division of labor becomes so well defined that the types which evolve strongly influence the individual inhabitants. Luks was sensitive to the impact of urbaniza- tion upon individuals attempting to deal with specializa- tion of labor while maintaining their sense of self~ His artistic ability to type cast, from indigent elderly to college professors, appears as a reaction to his observa- tions of the make-up of urban population. Burgess described the development of vocational types:
In the city every vocation, even that of a beg gar, tends to assume the character of a profession . and the discipline which success in any vocation enforces, emphasizes this tendency--the tendency namely, not merely to specialize, but to rational ize one's occupation and to develop a specific and conscious technique for carrying it on. . . . The effect of the vocations and the division of labor is to produce, in the first instance, not social groups, but vocational types: the actor, the plumber, and the lumber-jack. . . . The effect of the division of labor as a discipline, i.e., as means of molding character, may therefore be best studied in the vocational types it has produced.41
40rbid., p. 4.
4lrbid., p. 14. 47
Luks' knowledge of city dwellers has been demonstrated in this chapter from the political cartoons with the activi ties of politicians to the sketches from Munson-Williams
Proctor Institute. The content of Luks' artistic efforts varies in its focus from an early emphasis on individuals struggling with the strenuous life of "toil and effort" to a later emphasis on individuals dealing with modes and man ners. The drawing, Group of Figures, of 1920 (Plate 30), shows the artist's communication of feeling through the body language of three women and a baby. There is a sense of waiting, of depression, of inertia, in the lines of the figures. The women could be on a front porch in the
Bowery, or in a mining town in Pennsylvania. In either environment there were feelings. of loneliness,. despair, and hopelessness regarding a life of ~overty and hardship.
This chapter has surveyed Luks' varied styles as he moved from one means of expression to another. Luks used a variety of techniques which were, in part, determined by the intended purpose of the expression. His ability to select subject matter and content in response to the social issues of his time has been demonstrated, from the early comics and political cartoons which focus on turn of the century political, economic, and social problems in America to the involvement with the individual and the urban expe rience in the twentieth century. One writer has stated: 48
Luks' surly, somewhat brutal character is matched by many of his paintings, which often have strength while lacking technical facility. Yet as with others of his generation, the drawings reveal a different sensibility--and one that may better reflect the real artist.42
42Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr., American Master Draw ings and Watercolors (New York: Harper and Row, 1976~. 286. Chapter 3
INFLUENCES ON LUKS FROM THE SOCIOCULTURAL ENVIRONMENT, PARALLELS WITH THE LITERARY TRADITION, AND LUKS' INFLUENCE ON OTHERS
An examination of Luks' political cartoons, comics, and magazine sketches, as well as his paintings and draw- ings, reveals the extent of the influence of the sociocul- tural environment upon him. Understanding Luks' contem- porary social history makes possible some sociological insights. The theme of the "strenuous life" will be discussed subsequently in terms of its importance during the historical period under consideration, and its presence within achievements by Luks discussed in this study. Paral- lels with the contemporary literary tradition provide additional insights. Attention to a few artists who stu- died with Luks, if ever so briefly, will demonstrate the continuation of Luks' contributions to American art.
Under ~rban conditions, successful rewards for attaining all the positive goals of American culture were often difficult to obtain. Luks' achievements, as dis- cussed in this study, record individuals who received small reward for their years of.hard work, as, for example, in
Luks' watercolor Daughter of the Mines of 1923 (Plate 31).
This sensitively rendered portrait presents a woman who has probably retreated from any aspirations of self-fulfillment
49 50
due to many years of drudgery as an inhabitant of a mining
community. Luks illustrates the disparity between the
American dream and the actual numbers of individuals suc
cessful in attaining it.
Luks and his peers worked as artist-illustrators in
Philadelphia and New York during the 1890s, a time of eco
nomic crisis, industrial strife, and ethnic turmoil. In
spite of the reality of slum conditions, urban life was
thought of as exciting. Higham comments on a number of
interacting factors involved in the urban scene. First is
the interdependence of urban individuals on each other as
occupations became more specialized. Out of this inter dependence Higham identifies a growing social consciousness which is group rather than individually oriented. Second,
Higham cites a growing cosmopolitanism as varied groups, while tending to cluster together in ghettos, nonetheless became aware of different life styles, each with customs which enriched daily living. Third, he describes the ·
increasing impersonal tone of human experience as people
fromvaried backgrounds, accustomed to the satisfying human relationships of intimate family life, were forced to associate daily with strangers in order to engage in occupa tions. The impersonal, often alienating urban experience was reinforced by such restraints as the time clock. Ulti mately, the need to break out of regulated life manifested itself in sports and outdoor recreation, and, on the 51 national level, in a policy of imperialism.l All of these may be seen as manifestations of the "strenuous life" referred to on page 49.
The theme of the "strenuous life" appears as early as Thomas Jefferson in American tradition and is important to take into account in evaluating the significance of
Luks. Edwin Cady says:
The strenuous life then springs from the earli est roots of American experience: exploring and colonizing adventurousness; Puritan, Quaker and otherwise Utopian and "come-outer" zeal; the con fident patience of the builders of culture and the hot egotism of gamblers; frontier toughness; the faith, vision, defiance, yet balance of the founders of the Republic.2
Two undated watercolor sketches by Luks of Theodore
Roosevelt, their raison d'etre unknown, suggest the admira- tion which the artist held for this national figure {Plate
32 and Plate 33). Fascinated by his hero's "gusto" and
"guts," Luks portrayed Roosevelt with the forceful sense of character evident in the legends surrounding this political leader. In the political stirrings of the 1890s, Roosevelt gained public recognition. He first discussed the "strenu- ous life" in a speech before the Hamilton Club, a business- men's group, in Chicago, on April 10, 1899:
lJohn Higham, Writing American History (Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1970), pp. 73-88.
2Edwin H. Cady, "'The Strenuous Life' as a Theme in American Cultural History,n eds. Ray W. Browne, Donald M. Windelrnan, and Allen Hayman, New Voices in American Studies, (West Layfayette, Indiana: Purdue University Studies, 1966) t P• 60. 52
In speaking to you, men of the greatest city in the West, men of the State which gave to the country Lincoln and Grant, men who preeminently and distinctly embody all that is most American in the American character, I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil and who, out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph.3
As a powerful leader, activist, and patriot,
Roosevelt symbolized the energy of his era. His speech strengthened the impact of this theme on American society.
Restless, ambitious and curious, Roosevelt demonstrated his beliefs through his actions. These actions took the form of national leadership at the turn of the century when urban
Americans, moving into a rapidly changing technological society, were forced to reconsider old values and mores.
Roosevelt championed American expansionist policy and was supported by those who believed that "they had a special mission to reshape the world by spreading republicanism, democracy, and free enterprise."4
During Roosevelt's activities in American political life, Luks cartoons in The Verdict responded to issues of
3Theodore Roosevelt, "The Strenuous Life," American Ideals, the Strenuous Life, Realizable Ideals, Vol. XIII, The Works of Theodore ROOSevelt, National Edition (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1926), p. 319.
4samuel F. Wells, Jr., "The Challenges of Power- American Diplomacy, 1900-1921," ed. William E. Leuchtenburg, The Unfinished Century--America Since 1900 (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1973), p. 122. 53 concern as some Americans participated in aggressive nation- alism, social reforms, and imperialist foreign policy. For example, "The Imperialism Stunt" (Plate 15), presents a vigorous reaction by Luks to imperialist foreign policy.
Sociologists, who tend to acknowledge that artists fre- quently reflect in their work the preoccupations of their times, have studied the function of artistic content. In one particular instance, Kavolis provides a backdrop against which to discuss Luks' artistic achievements in this study:
• . • artistic content has the function of helping man to develop an emotional involvement with the objects of his social and cultural environment and that the creation of art, by providing new symbolic foci of socio-cultural integration, contributes to the reintegration of society after the disturbance of a relative equilibrium.S
As indicated earlier in this chapter, one of the manifestations of the "strenuous life" in the late nine- teenth century was the sports boom. There was a new empha sis on recreational activities, including bicycling, base- ball, and sports of speed and violence. Heavyweight boxing champions became folk heroes. Luks paid his own respects to this aspect of American life, and even claimed that he had been an active participant in this sport.6 He made
Svytautas Kavolis, Artistic Expression--A Socio logical Analysis (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1968), p. 5. 6Direct quote of Luks: "You're not talking to George Luks, now," he said, "you're talking to 'Chicago Whitey,' the best amateur boxer and barroom fighter in America. You're talking to Luks, the professional quarter back. Don't make any mistake about that. I've lived and 54
reference to Jack Dempsey in a watercolor sketch (Plate
34), and later, in 1927, continued to document the sport
by painting a portrait of Gene Tunney (Plate 35).
In American art, specifically in the works of Luks,
the theme of the "strenuous life" often appears as part of
an urban iconography. Frequently, Luks' concern for the
"strenuous life" is revealed in the recording of persons who live the life of "toil and effort," without reaping
rewards. At other times Luks portrays those whose activi-
ties are physically strenuous and heroic. One clear illus-
tration of this aspect of the theme is The Wrestlers of
1905 (Plate 11) .7 This powerful painting directly docu- ments the American admiration for strength, individual prowess, and the need to win, whatever the game. In the pencil sketch, The Peddler (Plate 36}, Luks presents the
image of a man, low on the socioeconomic ladder and
thereby relatively unsuccessful, who nevertheless lived the
life of "toil and effort." The artist's interpretation of
slum life includes compassion and tenderness. ·According to
Luks, in an interview with Louis Baury for The Bookman:
No man--at least, no man who has anything at all to him--wants to proclaim the fact that he is "down and out." When he reaches that stage his desire is
I'm still living." "Luks Speaks Up," The Art Digest, Vol. 7 (January 1, 1933), 29.
7see Chapter 1, p. 15. 55
to hide his condition, to crawl somewhere out of sight where the fact that he is a failure will not make him liable to constant taunts and sneers, where he can have a chance to recuperate before he throws himself once more into the universal struggle for success. So he turns naturally to the slums .•.. 8
The political cartoons for The Verdict exemplify the use of 11 popular" art to document the "strenuous life 11 on a group and national level. Luks uses the vigorous visual image of "Uncle Sam" several times. "Uncle Sam" as a term symbolizing the United States was first used during the War of 1812. The figure of 11 Uncle Sam," costumed in stars and stripes, was used in cartoons beginning in the
1830s.9 With the help of this well-recognized symbol in conjunction with other images understood by the American public, Luks' cartoons represent an editorial viewpoint which was against trusts, monopolies, and imperialism.
Because of the lack of documentation, consideration of the motivation for the underlying content of Luks' work must be highly speculative. The observers and critics of
Luks record that he painted and drew with 11 guts" and "gusto!' "'Guts! Guts! Life! Life! That's my technique!'"lO The
BLouis Baury, "The Hessage of the Proletaire," The Bookman, Vol. 24, No. 4 (December 1911), 403. See Appendix B for the complete discussion of the slums by Luks.
9Merrill Jensen, "Uncle Sam," The World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. XX (Chicago: Field Enterprises Educa tional Corporation, 1976), p. 11.
10Benjamin DeCasseres, "The Fantastic George Luks," New York Herald Tribune, September 10, 1933, p. 12, col. 1. 56 sense of vigor inherent in Roosevelt's definition of the
"strenuous life" is realized in Luks' achievements. He appears to romanticize the poor, a subject which he treats
frequently and which thereby suggests that such a subject must have had special significance for Luks.ll Critics of the Ashcan School believe that attitudes toward subject matter varied considerably with the individual artist.l2
It may be that, as well as being intrigued with the pic- torial possibilities of urban life, Luks was also inter- ested in the impact of the urban experience upon the evolv- ing American social character. Luks' subjects were often more than visually intriguing models in their struggles to live the "strenuous life," as is illustrated for example in
The Wrestlers (Plate 11). In this painting, two modern, urban athletes compete for glory in the form of an ancient contest. Perhaps Luks selected his subjects as individual manifestations of social conditions within urban society, thus recording factual statements concerning the poor. He implied the needs for social reforms within a romantically
llHarold Osborne writes that a work of art may con tain more or different meanings than the artist is aware of. The artist is not always the best interpreter of his own work. This concept of the intentional fallacy of the artist is fully discussed in Harold Osborne, Aesthetics and Art Theory (New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1970~p:--267.
12Milton W. Brown, American Painting From the Armory Show to the Depression (Princeton, New Jersey: Pr~nceton Un~vers~ty Press, 1972), p. 13. 57 flavored style.l3 Luks personified bravado with his boast- ful facade, yet underneath this exterior existed the soul of a sensitive and gentle man. 14 In an interview, he said:
It is not in human nature to repose, passive and restless, on the bottom • . . and the dominant mes sage of the slums, insofar as it can be confined to the bounds of one sentence, becomes: "We strive."lS
Luks' oil and pencil studies of persons in the urban scene are essays on individual characters and social types which parallel similar images in American literature of the same period. It was not only among America's visual artists that urban subject matter and content were popular. Parallels between the visual and literary traditions strengthen the concept that art develops in response to certain factors of the sociocultural environment.
In literature Thomas Dreiser, Stephen Crane, and
Frank Norris explored contemporary social realities. Accor~ ing to Farrington, commenting on this literary exploration,
Stephen Crane and Frank Norris and Theodore .Dreiser were the intellectual children of the nineties and their art was a reflection of that sober period of American disillusion.l6
These observant American writers were strongly influenced by
13 Ibid. I p. 3 0 . 14Helen Parr Sloan, in correspondence with this writer, November 15, 1977, states: " . so much intelli- gence and courtesy remained intact along with the coarse and trivial boasting," p. 1.
15Baury, "The Message of the Proletaire," 402.
16vernon Louis Farrington, Maincurrents in American Thought, The Beginnings of Critical Realism in America 1860- 58 the impact of new experiences upon individuals within the urban environment.
Both Luks and Crane relied upon the Bowery as a source for subject matter. Luks' painting The Old Duchess
(Plate 5), as discussed earlier on page 10, is the portrait of a slum dweller whose poverty is hidden through clothing and the selection of title. In contrast, Crane's title for
Maggie, A Girl of the Streets is clear and the story makes no attempt to escape from facts. Crane documented the "strenuous life," recording compassionately those who lived the life of "toil and effort" in slums. The artistic achievements of Luks and Crane include a sense of the drama of human existence as individuals attempt to cope with soci- ety. Both men selected "losers" for their subjects. In
Luks' sketch The Peddler (Plate 36), the figure appears heavy, and the cape-like effects of the lines suggest that the subject has draped himself with old garmets which he hopes to sell. The peddler's body is stopped from the heavy load, as he is shown walking towards the viewer in a slow and lumbering fashion. Luks has captured the moment and filled it with drama, by the use of thick pencil lines drawn with a heavy downward stroke.
In his drawings more than in his paintings, Luks approaches the expressive power evident in the literary
1920, Vol. III (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1958), p. 317. 59
examples discussed in this chapter. His social commentary is less obvious in his paintings than in his pen and pencil sketches, which seem more sensitive and direct. This may be the result of this newspaper experiences which demanded a realistic approach to drawing.
In contrast to Crane, Theodore Dreiser writes with optimism in The "Genius," the success story of an artist- hero. Dreiser stresses the superiority of the city as a place for the artist to advance his profession. His hero,
Eugene Witla, bears similarities to both Luks and Everett
Shinn. Dreiser had four persons in mind for the hero, including Luks and Shinn.l7 Dreiser's portrait novel describes a flamboyant and boastful hero-artist. Mellquist writes that Luks attracted literary men and that Dreiser modelled his hero after Luks, with such descriptive words as· "profane," "meaty," "not inelegant," "a contradiction of his own best and worst."l8 In their quest for realism, artists of the period, such as the Eight group, seemed to be more worldly and less detached from the society than artists of the academic tradition. Dreiser writes of his hero, regarding art, 11 To Eugene, it was the last word in
17oorothy Dudley, Dreiser and the Land of the Free (New York: AMS Press, Inc., 1970);-p.~a-.---
lSJerome Mellquist, The Emergence of an American Art (New York: Kennikat Press, 1969), p. 134-.- 60 the matter of emotional percepti.on."l9
When The "Genius" was published in 1915, Dreiser was threatened by a group of vice crusaders and tried in court.20 He made it clear that he was neither rebelling against society nor attempting to reform it, but only wanted to write about people and their innermost feelings as they attempted to cope with their difficult life situa- tions. Luks and his fellow artists of the Eight group received negative reviews from both art critics and the general public, but their paintings did not command the broad furor of Dreiser' s novel. ·Neither Dreiser nor Luks consciously set about to create works of art that would elicit violent so<;:ial reactions. Mellquist notes certain parallels between Luks and Dreiser:
He (Luks) had nothing startling to say. He did not origina:te. No more than Dreiser, did Luks increase the scope of the world's expression. But both were exponents of a truth which, in being recog nized, upset more than the specific content of their work. Both were levers under the layers of American dryness. Both broke fissures so that the unadmitted could come through. And that is why both were hated.21
The two men share one significant quality, the similarity of subject matter.
19Theodore Dreiser, The "Genius" (Cleveland, Ohio: The World Publishing Co., 1943), p. 65.
20oudley, p. 70.
21Mellquist, p. 137. 61
Defending the sociological approach in the under- standing of art, Barnett notes that artists are "often remarkably sensitive to tensions in the social order .. "22 He suggests further that art may be a "process in which the artist, the work of art, and the art public are interacting elements. n23 Recalling that Luks spoke out on artists. dealing with subject matter familiar to them,24 it is interesting to observe what Dreiser wrote: "This is what living in my time has seemed like • . • you may not like my vision but it is the only one I have seen and felt
••• therefore it is the only one I can give."25 During an interview with John Spargo, Luks acknowledged the rich resourses of the artist's own environment.26
Frank Norris admonished writers to confront life and forget about dealing with literature.. "The function of the novelist of this present day is to comment upon life
22James Barnett, "The Sociology of Art," Sociology Today, eds. Robert K. Merton and others (New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1959), p. 198.
23Ibid., p. 210.
24John Spargo, "George Luks, An American Painter of Great Originality and Force Whose Art Relates to All the Experiences and Interests of Life," The Craftsman, Vol. 12, No. 6 (September 1907), 602. ---
25Edward McDonald, A Bibliography of the Writings of Theodore Dreiser (Philadelphia: Cenataur Book Shop, 1928) 1 P• 12. 26spargo, p. 602. 62
as he sees i t.n:27 Norris, along with Dreiser and Luks,
reflects the teachings of Robert Henri, who told his stu-
'dents to use life for inspiration. Similarly, Norris wrote:
The novel with a purpose "is" one contends, a preaching novel. But it preaches by telling things. Only the author selects from the great storehouse of actual life the things to be told and the things to be shown, which shall bear upon his problem his purposes.28
As Luks instructed artists to work in America and select
subject matter from their own environment, so Norris was
concerned with the role of the artist.
In 1897 Norris wrote about San Francisco's need for
a novelist \vho would "get at the heart of us, the blood
and bones and fiber of us, that shall go a-gunning for
stories up and down our streets and into our homes and par
lours. . . . "29 He completes these comments with: ''Damn
the 'style' of a story so long as we get the swing and rush
and trample of the things that live."30 Like Crane, but
with greater tenacity, Norris collected information to pro-
vide realistic background for his fiction. In comparison,
27Frank Norris, The Responsibilities of the Novel ist (New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1903), p. 282.
2 8 Ibid. , p. 2 7 .
29Frank Norris as cited by Charles Norris, "Intro duction,11 Collected Writings--Hitherto Unpublished in Book Form, Vol. X, Complete Works of Frank Norris (Port Was~ ~ngton, New York: Kenn~kat Press, Inc., 1967), p. xii. 30Ibid. 63
Luks was casual in his attitude towards historicism, and ofteri type-casted.
The Miner, painted by Luks in 1925 (Plate 36), com municates great power and strength and is reminiscent of
Norris' character, McTeague. Luks, who was familiar with the mining town of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, presents the miner as a hulking figure, his occupation identified by clothing and equipment. An implied sense of narrative in the painting suggests much about this American laborer's life. Posed at Luks' instruction, the miner looks directly at the viewer. Luks captures on canvas the danger of the occupation of a miner, while Norris defines in literature the drama in the life of a small town dentist.
Norris' theme in McTeague touches upon the indi vidual's need to relate to others as well as dealing with feelings of loneliness and alienation. Luks' own response to these needs and feelings in presented in the pencil draw ing, Man Alone (Plate 38). The figure, back to the viewer, walks away, into the deep space provided by Luks. The sense of loneliness is dramatized by the use of black and white and by the starkiness of the silhouette. This draw ing is a remarkable contrast to Luks' political cartoons and comics, and reinforces Luks' involvement through social content with the sociocultural environment.
Many twentieth century American artists who have responded to the social realities of their time, if ever so 64
briefly, studied at one time in their careers with Luks.
This group includes Reginald Marsh, Philip Evergood, and
Joseph Hirsch. Active later in the century than Luks,
these artists have responded to the American scene, and have used the human figure as subject matter to express the
social concerns inherent in overpopulated areas. Labelled
as social realists, they "attempted to use art to protest
and dramatize injustice to the working class."31 They were
the "spiritual, though not the stylistic, inheritors" of Luks.32
Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), a profilic and compe-
tent painter, also was an illustrator. He studied with
Luks and Sloan at the Art Students League in New York. He
sketched in a loose and cariacature-like style, and worked
as an illustrator for many publications, including Vanity
Fair, at the same time that Luks worked for that publica
tion. Marsh's favorite subject was New York City, and it
is of interest to compare the Vanity Fair sketches of Luks
and Marsh. The earlier discussion of Luks' achievement for
Vanity Fair, in Chapter 2, noted that this magazine dealt
with manners and modes. In Marsh's sketches, "What Is
3loavid Shapiro, ed. , Social Realism; Art As a weapon (New York: Frederick Ungar Publ1.shing Co.,l973), p. 3.
32John Baur, Revolution and Tradition in Modern American Art (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1958), p. 90. 65
Wrong With These Pictures?" (Plate 39), groups of people
are portrayed, engaged in social activities, in contrast to
Luks' sketches of individuals or very small groups.
Marsh's interest in the total social scene is in contrast with Luks' concern for the individual, and the visual
statements by each artist are based upon differing socio-
cultural perceptions. With Marsh, the individual is almost drowned in a sea of "others," and the human figure becomes a compositional device for the artist's virtuosity, whereas with Luks, the individual, as an important human figure, is
placed against a very simple background.
Philip Evergood (1901-1973) , was educated in
England. He returned to the United States as a young man and studied briefly at the Art Students League, from 1923-
1925, with both Luks and William Von Schegell. According to Baur, Evergood wanted to shake off his background at
Eton and Cambridge, and "be a part; of what I was painting, the way Daumier and Courbet and Goya were."33 Evergood's artistic achievements deal with common human experiences and emotions which he presents with profoundly expressive
images, as illustrated in Her World of 1948 (Plate 40).
This powerful painting, with its touchingly poignant fig- ure, reveals no stylistic influences from Luks. However,
33John Baur, Philip Evergood (New York: Harry Abrams, Inc., 1975), pp. 34-35. 66
it is. in Evergood's role as social commentator that he is
linked to his early teacher. Influenced by the social
problems of the Depression of the 1930s, Evergood portrays
the individual as the ploy of an ugly society, alienated,
alone, and hauntingly desperate.
Joseph Hirsch, born in 1910, studied briefly with
Luks during 1932, in Luks' studio on Twenty-Second Street
in New York. "He influenced my work then and now, by
infecting my concepts--as well as my brushstrokes--with a robust decisiveness."34 He continues, "Yes, I do identify with urban America, thanks, in large part, to my old
teacher."35 Hirsch, born and educated in Philadelphia, has exhibited at such major American museums as the Whitney,
the Museum of Modern Art, and the Metropolitan Museum, all
in New York City. Currently, he is an -active artist and teacher. In the conte crayon drawing Blind Men Listening
(Plate 41}, Hirsch depicts feelings of pathos and indicates his understanding of the physically handicapped. The three men, all drawn in profile, appear to be straining to listen, using those senses which are functioning. Hirsch's use of line expresses a dynamic sense of energy and serves to make serious social comment. In The Room of 1958 (Plate 42) ,
Hirsch creates a figural grouping far more sophisticated in
34Joseph Hirsch, correspondence with this writer, December 11, 1977.
35Ibid. 67 the interrelationships of figures with their architectural environment than Luks would have attempted. Hirsch dis- plays a high degree of control in the execution of the paintings, in direct contrast to the broad manner of Luks.
Hirsch's momentary slice of life seems almost frozen, while
Luks, in his slice of life painting and drawings, pursues airy, atmospheric qualities.
Kavolis comments that the whole body of an indi- vidual artist's expression should reflect his involvement with his sociocultural environment, "and that the content of art of a distinct historical epoch should be a still more faithful expression of the dominant involvements of the epoch's artists."36 Further, "it is not a priori assumed that 'social involvements' contribute the only sociological relevant source of art content."37 Marsh, Evergood, and
Hirsch seems to respond to their epoch, as Luks does to his.
Luks' artistic expression emphasizes content over form, a quality partly determined early in his_career by the nature of his work as an artist-illustrator.
Luks gave expression to the theme of the "strenuous life" throughout his artistic career, from his early politi- cal cartoons through his paintings of the poor, to his celebration of athletes in such sports as boxing and polo.
36vytautas Kavolis, "Art Content and Social Involve ment," 472.
37rbid. 68
References to literature in this chapter indicate parallels in the visual and literary arts in America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and document the evolving American, affected by the changing sociocultural environment. Chapter 4
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
This study has presented Luks in his role as a
social commentator of the American scene. Luks' artistic works have been discussed against a background of historical
information, sociological research, and the achievements of other visual and literary artists. Prior to this study,
Luks' contributions to the documentation of the American scene through political cartoons, comics, and magazine
sketches had been a neglected area of research. This review of Luks' political cartoons for The Verdict, his comics for
the New York World, and his drawings for Vanity Fair, all
forms of "popular" art, suggest the possibility of consider-
ing "art as a process in which the artist, the work of art, and the art public are interacting elements."l
The discussion has included American artists of both the visual and literary traditions who have documented the American social character, including such artists as
Homer, Eakins, Anshutz, Henri, and Luks, and such writers as Crane, Dreiser, and Norris. Luks participated in this tradition both through his own achievements and as the
IJames Barnett, "The Sociology of Art," eds. Robert K. Merton and others, Sociology Today (New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1959), p. 210.
69 70
teacher of such artists as Marsh, Evergood, and Hirsch.
He transmitted his concerns to his students, many of whom
have contributed considerably to the documentation of the
American urban scene.
The artists discussed in this study acknowledge
social and cultural change in American society. Homer
identifies the individual as worthy of documentation, Eakins narrows the selection to individuals of the middle class, and Anshutz pays tribute to the American worker, placing the
individual within a real, time-bound setting. Luks and his group pay tribute to the individual within the urban experi ence. Luks' achievements were ~nfluenced by the sociocul tural environment. Some of these works deal with the theme of the "strenuous life," championed during Luks' lifetime by Theodore Roosevelt. Luks interpreted this theme with his characteristic "guts" and "gusto," depicting in paintings and drawings such subject matter as individuals coping with the urban environment in a life of "toil and effort" and considering in political cartoons and illustrations issues of concern in American political life. Finally, subsequent artists, including Evergood, Marsh, and Hirsch, have treated the individual as part of a population of "others," separate from the group, yet physically surrounded by other human beings.
Luks created an aura of myth and mystery around himself. This study, however, presents some of his 71 contributions other than paintings, reveals his sensitivity to people and social issues, and widens his stereotyped image of "guts" and "gusto" to include humor and tender- ness. As the 1980s begin, Luks' interest in the human figure continues to be viable subject matter in American art. Daily newspapers still feature both political car- toons and comics, these pictorial images now an integral part of the media impact upon Americans. In American art, realism has been an acceptable means of communicating ideas and style. The realism of artists such as Luks, expressed in paintings, drawings, and illustrations for publications, graphically records the changes within a civilization.
According to Kouwenhoven:
In significant respects our civilization has from the beginning been dependent on technology .... It is this fact which gives special significance to the study of American arts. • . • The arts in America reveal, more clearly on the whole than the arts of any other people, the nature and meaning of modern civilization.2
In conclusion, in participating in the manner of his times, through the visual docurnentatio~ of Americans and their society, Luks continues the tradition of realism in American art. By expressing himself in the popular media of newspapers, journals, and magazines, Luks, as artist- reporter, brings together the visual traditions of the
2John A. Kouwenhoven, The Arts in Modern American Civilization (New York: W. W. Norton &Co., Inc., 1948), p. 5. 72
"fine" and "popular" arts, pointing the way for their increased interrelationship in the later twentieth century.
Finally, in exploring and studying Luks' endeavors, doors have been opened for further investigation. An assessment of Luks and some of his achievements, from an art histori cal perspective, using a multifaceted approach, assists in providing a new and clear evaluation of the artist and his position in the history of American art. Although he is not a towering figure, Luks rightfully has a place among those artists who have contributed to the vitality of the
American tradition of art. PLATES
73 74
Plate 1
Winslow Homer, Snap the Whip, oil on canvas, 1872. The Butler Institute of American Art. 75 76
Plate 2
Thomas Eakins, Walt Whitman, oil on canvas, 1887. Pennsyl vania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 77 78
Plate 3
Thomas Anshutz, Ironworkers at Noontime, oil on canvas, ca. 1882. Dr. and Mrs. Irving F. Burton, Huntington Woods, Michigan. 79 80 l
Plate 4
Robert Henri, Portrait of George Luks, oil on canvas, 1904. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada. 81 82
Plate 5 George Luks, The Old Duchess, oil on canvas~905. Metro politan Museum of Art, New York. 83 ------·--·- ·-·······
84
Plate 6
George Luks, "Uncle Sam: 'I'm Ready to Join This Peace Con ference!" Political cartoon for journal, The Verdict, Vol. 1, No. 10 (February 20, 1899), 10-11. 85 86
Plate 7
Winslow Homer, Cavalry Soldier, black chalk on paper, 1863. Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, New York. 87 88
Plate 8
George Luks, "An Insurgent Standard Bearer," newsprint. Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, 1896. 89
I n. Jluo.l~Ua::. P...;u"d.. j Gh·n tU l:ua:z.ntt ,1"1-:. ! UHCJ' W:ne11 by .a ai still I ',..,. 1 '"· the.. ... I H~ lp . I • .5-r.d ~~~n I I 1(~- hot: ,.,.,..-41>11. I ubllc I h .>m · ~ak· 'PH&l f.a!oJ A be.lt'· . th ~ "iltu1 · ct. .enl·~· I ,al"""".... l iar· oan'• AN aN~!!~GENT TYPE I. rher-8 WC· A~ may h~ tn!e~-:.;~::-:::-:-~:~:n~h-:=---1•- "'""' actu eox ~m pU1'1 ~d l n "Ti.l" nulll!!lln"' arti:tl'!l si!:<'ttrl'\ trom U! t\ re9 r o duccd alio\t, ~he &. n·r"A.'{~ !nlJ..UJ"g.& n t trno~~r l'f l'f}t " ll. th !np; oC be a.u u· a.nd a JOY to:-.. , e.r ' T ne ~ ~ ~on 1J f o1. v&J'nDt m:!ILuy liCe, tho ! 1 ~at ..~~{;II t<>r" c f a troph.:·al 11Un. :he h 3.if fa..zruJhe...l C' Or.flUton h~ !:1 tro>q :.u•n tly •ub- ..... j f" c:"ted to and uw JCup~tyt~. evf'n ·lea tUy, a.-ua.r~eolo base lett I l .... tl'lelr tra.eH u pou him r.cnt 1 rtt.alA('(.ft l __j_ I l'nln~ _ .. ~.oo~~. __ -~ ------""""--vti">A.atl&n J t.ba ,O&Ul. ~ tA tha--. .-A u _ 90 Plate 9 George Luks, Hester Street, oil on canvas, 1905. The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York. 91 92 Plate 10 Thomas Eakins, Wrestlers, oil on canvas, 1899. National Academy of Design, New York. 93 94 Plate 11 George Luks, Wrestlers, oil on canvas, 1905. Museum of.Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. 95 96 Plate 12 George Luks, "The Battle of January 29," newsprint. Phila delohia Evening Bullet·in, February 15, 1896, p. 1. Tillt nATTf.E OP' JANfTART 2'1. f!Ott7'r1~ht. ~~ . br ' Jh• nulletln" CG.rnp&,nf. ·····----·····- - -· -·-·------______j_ O n l h~t m ~? rnln• o t Juwary '1P a train r.o mr0111P"t1 o f aev.-rat r&~~• f! nl'n co.rhu anl1 a ~"ar n11r11 with ~panlah tr"t)(""pa wa• •t.ArtPrt frntn Ran J7,.111' t Wh111n It wu n\' 4" mil"" f ro m that town two J h<> --- ~ _- -; ------~------··--- ··- -·-----··-~--=- ~ ------·------·------·-· -·- 1.0 -..J 98 Plate 13 George Luks, "A Hot Election Day in Hogan's Alley," newsprint. New York WoYld, November 1, 1896, Sunday Supplement, p. 1. 99 ·--;:• t, -;'A_.· Hpt. ELECTI~N DAY !N .HOGAN!S A~Y. ~~- 100 Plate 14 George Luks, "Barbarous Cruelty of a Turkish Governor," newsprint, New York World, September 20, 1896, p:-lg:-- ---,;:------·- ~lloe-,..,.tu~ •t.lntlnc o ~ll' , ""M• 'h at• ~,. ·n t\,, ·,tlnu• nt•; .. ,.,. •ut1 ~r . 1 n o ~n 1lq.J 11 r11 .,fl!- t' hfl'" •• I• ~tb •"'a h, 1 t•al1l lh 1, , ... rl u• lf'llfh·r" ln ·. th fl ~~~ \· tJI'1 1!1 r\u.,. th•t•h•1• r .. '\ult••J 1f11 ,, , ,. u ( tUtt 1'\.t!rr', lr11~• t tcttl u h hU b r1111 It • dMtlny elth Plate 15 George Luks, "The Imperialism Stunt," political cartoon- journal illustration, The Verdict, Vol. 2, No. 9 (August 14, 1899), 1. 103 104 Plate 16 George Luks, "Hanna: That Man Clay Was an Ass. It's Better to Be President than to Be Right!" Political cartoon for journal, 1899. Special Collections, Research Library, UCLA, Los Angeles, California. 105 106 Plate 17 George Luks, "The Way We Get the War News - Manila Correspondent and the McKinley Censorship," political cartoon for journal. The Verdict, Vol. 2, No. 10 (August"2I, 1899), 1. 107 _, Plate 18 George Luks, "The Coming Republican Circus Has A Dress Rehearsal," political eartoon for journal. The Verdict, Vol. 2, No. 3 (July 3, 1899) , 12-13. 109 110 Plate 19 George Luks, Seen on Any Free Day in Any Art Gallery, published sketch. Vanity Fair, Vol. 16, No. 4 (June 1921), 44. 111 U'\JT\' F~IR I i{ 1' ~,,;~w:•Jy ', .,.,; ~-"' j'J /' -- .. \.. ~ ' ·' \_v· tv \'I I I THE POET-AESTHETE ' '--=> -CRITIC THE MAN OF 1 ASTE Frrud 1n thr ITt «•Iitty SHkl, in Connoiu~ur pu t•o:·lltnte H11 1 In intrllrrlual w1y, lor tht mwud darmmr ltudto •nd ri'Ytl drilrht Uflt. 1nd tht ltmi•JUbCOMHIOU• lul IUl. FI'YOrllt )Jiintll'lf$ IH •ubjrrtiYt Whtn IHPPtd on. thou depleting tu1n1, column~. 1nd aqur1k1 "Ce-rannt" "Ata'YIJfic" lht Forum Chaucter!Hit lp· "Shrl1m1: phnn'' "Color do~sn'l prttilti'Yt phnu:s ''Wh•t atrno•• function" 111 an amu~mf: mannrr ~~ phuc' What lcdmt: lor spare'" I' (' 1 ~ '~~\ SkP1chf'.• by !... GEOHGF: LtJKS ------THE MEASURER Thr pcsl of the tllhibit Musurr~ cvtry lhinr.. th~n chortlu ''Pnrpecu"'t wrong." "E•r:hc hrldJ ins1cad of lt'Ytn," "Eyu no! Jr. ri THE LA.DY WATER COLORIST THE LOVER OF THE NUDE THE OLD GUARD Pollyann• of tht bnuh. Pa1nh da1nty Doun't know much 1bout Ill, bul know& Xnrw Innes pe-non11ly. Shook h1ndr .-ilh :o~wu·t ftowcu on hu da1n1y 5"''ttl fntnd'• wh:n ht Jiku C1n't tlllttiy describt to 1 1 5 1 0 china Great 1dmittf of Bouecrcau. Gc h1~ !rand! what Ul mtan, 10 him. l! i1 ~n ;tn i89~c~~~"'~, hc h~r:ds~~s :,::~ :c rom~ and Rou flonhtur Bra'Ydy fare-d h;7 10 difficuil to put 1n1o wordr.. Ht ftlll On lhc h1nrmc commtlttc at the Ccn1ut1 tht drr•~•on Clf • cho1te bttwttn An 1nd 1hry wouldn'l undoc-rsnnd hi, rtiCI!On. Hc Childrtn Art wotl Club. fl..,orih· subJHt-v•rious delinrJ· nttd havr no worry. Thcy would tton1 of ''Thr Girl on thr Hilllop" Seen on Any Free Day in Any Art Gallery Pror·irrg tl1nl the Puintings An' Decidrdly 1\'ot th<> Only lncomtJrdJPrr Plate 20 George Luks, Bringers of Light: The.Professors, published sketch. vanity ~' Vol. 19, No. 3 (November 1922), 60. 113 60 VANITY FA! Profeuor Dr Witt'• counr in the Silver Afe ~I Prolrnor Aloy•ha LaSalle teachea pa1ntinc and Byuntme AM 11 one of the mou uoter1c tn i5 a ddtndH ef the c:lluic trad•tion. lit ia 1 the Un1vets•ty. Onh· three studenu h~ve elrct· firm believer in the idubuuon of the human ed it •nd th-c:y ar~ 'f'ery snobb1sh about it. form an~ hu lurlual:r _charact~riztd Ci:uua Prolenor Dr Witt may not be able to coach the and Maune a& ''Futur~tuc madmen". He hu c:rr"' but he doe1 know By:<~ntin.r Art. His Jrttlt mad~ I Jptcill ltu Profeuor joe. Marm,.. of tbr _Throlor•nl S~m!I".IUJ. When one of hll )'OUilofU c:onlrbu told hu clau that "there_ were puure• ol 1plendid proae poetry Ill the Eputlu of St. Paul"', Dr. Marnut arou. 10 bcuhy me~unr and tned; 1 under nand that an Jnttructor at tilu um•nary hu bern chuac:Hnz•D£ the worch of Paul u no bnur that poetry I How lOll£ lhall wt. conunuc to bubor thu bliJphemrr amon.r; \U? ~-.------~~·--~~~~ Proftnor Livinruotl Bhci tnchu Anthrope>- ::~~':to~ 1 Hl~,ci~~d~~u~~~~~u;~d• ~.u,ai~ee~er~ ~~~ry w,.'~~k ~~~~':;~~il:,~~~'!!~c}/ t'hem~phe·!~';ael caged lor ten yeara Oil the compoaitioo of 1 unturin cf m1n pus Jillt in~onuquent du11. aymphonit poem, after tht manner of Bcrlio1, or He usually cornu to ciJu dnr£1Df with him ar~ the aubject of ''Lorna Doone" Tht ahrimro-uttb 1nd1rnant lot:>tuJ or th11 thith bone ol a mutodon in( paaurc, ..,hith ht conJideu rather darint and mallln the morr un1ilive mernben of the is J.Corr:d for two pi:tolus in E flat tlau unc~sy by pomtinr out to .them their cloae l Plate 21 George Luks, The Children's Hour in WashihgtonBquare, published sketch. Vanity Fair, Vol. 17, No. 4 (December 1921), 49. 115 p£COIBER, !921 49 CHARLES GWENDOLYN T!ut is C'barin. Cb.arl~:s Behold G•eo.dolya. lht if lurtt spirued ~ad full auur of Cbarlu... Sb.e 1 f ctuldiah,. innocent lu.D. hu all her brother'• dn fiit i1 well to rt:lhem• ilitb ability to 4tin ~·r oa Lboac ••rr In· old11JC ptCpit iD.IID&. b1.1t !llllftl OCC.&JIOhl WhiD brr melhod& an infio. .on •auld li'ae to ILoock iuly more 1ubtiL Her Q1 taiiChitVOUJ Jittlt cbic! implement of tor• brat for & loop twe ia .. Wb1l"' -~· KA.TH&RIN£ AND ELLEN w, au hua Kathernil and Ellen. enrared in • lunlr and earnut diu:unioo of ttu htb•tt and c:l'latauer gf the oppouu UJ., 10 wh&trl it is du.idtd lhtt boya &ra, oar and til, hopdeu. Kath.r1ne end EU.n wall prob&biy .urtvt at thu Umt tonclu· 110n araan 10me twtnt,. yean iaur, afur 1hey h•·,. m&Ot a I•• ol tla utual tn&l& at married Hh TOODLES WlNERVA To Toodle~, Wuhinrton Scmethinr hu hlppened lquan is one ltaftd tO> liult W:iauva, lor 1h1 tb.rill ahcr another, and h Ji:Uff)'ICI pGit•hl.tlt ior lilt ic central u tht tht bcft~;h on wh1th btr ~loll u:cattn,, worth• mama it unanr. h looiu •bile thit~c •m~orin•bla. u thourh .11 bandh:rcnu:f PDoOr T oodlu-if he only mirht tenore Minerva's. 4i4o't ban to rrow vp •mour Pl•pu ANGELINA )(AR.GIE )AN£ Anrthn& it nill • ttifl.e: teto )'OI.lftl lo take more rhan an. in.· Marrit it the ~o~nditpuud !•ne, the dear cbild.. hu nocen1 byaunder't 1nll'rut in JtrnAit 12·P011tld rin(· h111 contumed t h r • 1 th• othu childnn't acuviliet tidt champion ol the fQ:IIkluneu, ninettca in WuhinltOft Sqyarc. Bul S~uan. Her combU· theum.u• and two bot· hule Anttlina's d.1y will C.ORII antt are of evuy itru•t· 1\u of or.antt soda. lr~ablt rac.t, •rt. •nd h.r.e's bther it • lu.d· colour. bvr tht dtlcn1h '"r Crunwich Villar• her title daily araiMt which is. per• ~c:tor, all comeu b.t.ps, jult as well The Children's Hour in Vl ashington Square Sketches by George Luks of Child-Life in the Hearl of Greentvich Village 116 Plate 22 George Luks, The Sand Artist, oil on canvas~9~ IBM Corporation. 117 118 Plate 23 George Luks, The ~1ixed Grill Served Daily at the Ritz, published sketch. Vanity Fair, Vol. 18, No. 6 (February 1922), 62. 119 02 VA!'ITY FAIR ROYALTY AND SON, INC To the nrht you obnrve one of the most ~:ommon urhu to be seen in It duly uun ter about the Rnt, And by "common", of couru., we by no me;a.n5 tmply "vulru", for the lady m the center H none. other than- the Princeu of Chivu, tnvelhni' tn thu country in the inttrcns of hH son'l educatiOn The genllem1n It htr nght i1 the son; 11 her ldL his tutor; hu usi. M:l!'ml hopehn. l1 i5 hopeltn E. JONES AND WIFE. JOWA This 11 Eldridrt Jonu, the rich~•' mtn in Iowa, on hi• •nnual v•t•t to tht Ent Eldridrc •hny• atopa et tht Rill, tnd rosh, how ht lovu it, u:upt thu he tomrtimu ha1 to walt until 6 or 6:15 btlott: tht din· in&: room optns iu doou It nlfhl A REAL ACTRESS A JOKE ON JUL1A This litHe rirl is on the leritimltt Hue in the hd•es' wriung room you ob ttare and hu to ha...-c: hu supper r. ltrVt Julia, ,.,-ho hu just had 1 dandy joke ln11e early, bu:auu: she must run im pbyc~ 011 her. You nt, one of juli•'• mtdiately to htr c!rnt~ne room in order (irl-fritnth told juiil tba\ lht kllt'lll1' I ptt to f'C:I "made up." ihir unfortunJit htt peach named Eddy Krcw•t: who wu condition will probably be remedied in crary to mctt her. Julia •lfned, of couuc, the nur future, and the dur rul can and au1ruted the Riu. ju\i1 hu ju~t got IJkt all the t1me 1he wanu for supper her flru rlimpse of Edd1c. Query t How -and alto lliYt thr whole eveninr to uo juli1 exit rucdull}·> hc:rstlf, every nirht in the we~~:i SkPirhel by GEORGE LUKS THE EDUCATION OP EDGAR HENRY ADAMS To the ltlt you set little Edru in Nt"W York on his way to bDardmr achool. The lady 1: Edrar'• ritht it Edrar's mother, Uld one JUt!IS .11 to the n1uon Edgar's mother insistu;1 that her bOJ' be riven ao Eutun education. instead or bcina: Jtnt to the lonl day ":hoot is that Edrar'• mother really uthrr f'njoy• theu tript to New York. ~~ toUif" to St Timothy'• The :Mixed Grill Served Daily at the Ritz Interesting and Characteristic Views Showing the Life of the Beautiful Ladies Who Dwell There--or Tlwreabou!! 120 Plate 24 George Luks, Polo: A Few Motion Pictureslby George Luks, published sketch. vanity Fair, Vol. 19, No. 1 (September 1922), 72. 121 12 VA:-llTV FA \ lt would IUrtl II if a COlllp!ucy had btrly been rnttrrd iMo bttwuo thr dirrcron ol An Galleriu in our country and thr c:unton of Europran Mun \lttiL, havinz. for in purpose, thr apoilinr of Grorrr l..uln•. thr Nr"" Yori. painter, Mort 1nd more. Mr. Lukr is brinr ncotniztd as an oririoal and •irorou• p1intrr, and mort and mort the mutti.UDI of three cotUIDtnts are ltQuirinr bit can•••u. In Enzlaod and Franu, in paruc:ular, cultivatrd ptoplc are br atowinr awards 01:1 hirn and doinr him homarr. Tbur muurly little thrrc minute •krtchn flowed hom hi1 pendl, thr other day, at Mudowhrook., whur an ancirnt and incurable lovt ol honu 11:1d rood 1port 10 lrrqurntly calla him Polo : A Few :Motion Pictures by George Luks An American Painter af Renown Once Mare Ind11l.ges His Artistic Passion for Following the Ponies 122 Plate 25 George Luks, At the Taft Exhibition, pencil on paper,---n:-d-:---M"unson Williarns-Proctor Institute, Utica, New York. 123 124 Plate 26 George Luks, Fat Woman, blue crayon on paper, n.d. Munson Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, New York. 125 126 Plate 27 George Luks, Spring in the Woods, pencil on paper, n.d. Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute~ Utica, New York. 127 128 Plate 28 George Luks, Figures, pencil on paper, n.d. Private collection. ------:------:129 130 Plate 29 George Luks, Figures, pencil on paper, n.d. Private collection. 131 132 Plate 30 George Luks, Group of Figures, carbon pencil on paper, ca. 1920. National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 133 134 Plate 31 George Luks, Daughter of the Mines, watercolor on paper,- 1923. Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, New York. 135 136 Plate 32 George Luks, · Teddie Roosevelt: Facing Right, watercolor on paper, n.d. Private Collection. 137 138 Plate 33 George Luks, Teddie Roosevelt: . Facing Front, watercolor on paper, n.d. Private Collection. 139 140 Plate 34 George Luks, Jack Detnps·ey in Training, watercolor on brown paper, ca. 1920-1924. Collec tion of Mr. and Mrs. William Preston Harrison, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California. 141 r .' I ,, . ).• :' ~-·~· ' · . !I ::-I ...... ___....:,.,; ·. 142 Plate 35 George Luks, Portrait of Tunney, oil on canvas,-r927, Vanity Fair, Vol. 29, No. 2 (October 1927}, 85. 143 144 Plate 36 George Luks, The Peddler, pencil on paper, n.d. Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota. John T. Baxter Memorial Collection of American Drawings. 145 146 Plate 37 George Luks, The Miner, oil on canvas, 1925. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. 147 148 Plate 38 George Luks, Man Alone, pencil on paper, n.d-.--Munson-Williams Proctor Institute, Utica, New York. 149 150 Plate 39 Reginald Marsh, "What Is Wrong with these Pictures"? Published sketch. Van:ity Fair, Vol. 18, No. 4 (July 1922), 74. 151 VANITY fAt~ ""That Is Wrong ""Tith These Pictures? Thrc~ L ~ssom in Eti Skr>doe.• by JlEGJNALD MA I!SH Thh pict"rr c:onuint '""o unpardonabh erTOu .,hic:h brant! tht ub~rc t 11 one: bckin.r tht torntt vJt,.. ja:n atmosphere:. Thert arc: nol nnrly rno\Jfh tab\u lor propu Broadway diuomlort. an.d tht c:horu• rirh Itt plainly whitt Caucuian inuud cl thr e:onvrntiOflal hirh brown or c:hro'"e ,.rllow 152 Plate 40 Philip Evergood, Her World, oil on canvas, 1948. Metro politan Museum of Art, New York. 153 154 Plate 41 Joseph Hirsch, Blind Men Listening, conte crayon on paper, n.d. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ne~v York. 155 156 Plate 42 Joseph Hirsch, The Room, oil on canvas, n.d. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 157 -· .: :. ·-. BIBLIOGRAPHY 158 BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Allen, Frederick Lewis. The Big Change. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1952. Amory, Cleveland. "Introduction--A Fair Kept," eds. Cleveland Amory and Frederick Bradlee, Vanity Fair. New York: The Viking Press, 1960. Barnett, James H. "The Sociology of Art," eds. Robert K. Merton, Leonard Bloom, and Leonard s. Cottrell, Jr., Sociology Today. New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1959, pp. 197-214. Baur, John I. H. Philip Evergood. New York: Harry Abrams, Inc., 1975. Revolution and Tradition in Modern American Art. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press-,-- 1958. Beer, Thomas. The Mauve Decade. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926-.-- Brown, Milton W. American Painting from the Armory Show to the Deoression. Princeton, New Jersev: Princeton University Press, 1972. - The Story of the Armory Show. New York: The Joseph Hirschorn Foundation, H. Wolff, 1963. Browne, Ray B., Marshall Fishwick, and Michael T. Marsden, eds. Heroes of Popular Culture. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1972. Cadenhead, I. E., Jr. Theodore Roosevelt--The Paradox of Progressivism. New York: Barron's Educational Series, 1974. Cady, Edwin H. "'The Strenuous Life' as a Theme in American Cultural History," New Voices in American Studies, eds. Ray B. Browne, Donald M. Winkelman, and Allen Hayman. West Layfayette, Indiana: Purdue University Studies, 1966, pp. 59-66. 159 160 Cady, Edwin H. Stephen Crane. New York: Twayne Pub lishers, Inc., 1962. The Light of Common Day. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University-Press, 1971. Caffin, Charles. The Story of American Painting. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1907. Cahill, Holger. New Horizons in American Art. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1936-.- Canaday, John. Mainstreams of Modern Art. New York: Rinehart and Winston, 1959. Carey, Elizabeth Luther. George Luks. New York: Whitney Museum of Art, 1931. Clark, T. J. Image of the People. Greenwich, Connecticut: New York Graphic;8oc1ety, Ltd., 1973. The Absolute Burgeois. Greenwich, Connecticut: New York Graph1c Society, Ltd., 1973. Commager, Henry Steele. The American Mind. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press;-1950. Cortissoz, Royal. American Artists. New York: Charles Scribners' Sons, 1923. Denman, Frank. "Printing," Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. XXII. New York: Americana Corporation, 1960, p. 592. Dreiser, Theodore. The "Genius." Cleveland, Ohio: The World Publishing Co., 1943. DuBois, Guy Pene. Artists Say the Silliest Things. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, Inc., 1940. Dudley, Dorothy. Dreiser and the Land of the Free. New York: AMS Press, Inc.;-1970. ------ Earle, Helen. Biographical Sketches of American Artists. Charleston, South Carolina: Garner and Co., Book sellers Publishers, 1972. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Art," Ralph Waldo Emerson's Essays and Journals, ed. Lewis Mumford. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Co., Inc., 1968, pp. 235-244. 161 Faulkner, Harold. Politics, Reform and Expansion 1890-1900. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1959. Freidel, Frank. America in the Twentieth Century. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, I96o. Ginger, Ray. Age of Excess, United States - 1877-1914e New York: Macm~llan Co., 1965. Glackens, Ira. William Glackens and the Ashcan Group. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc.;-1957. Gombrich, E. H. Meditations on a Hobby Horse. London: Phaidon Publishers, 1963.-- • The Romanes Lectures for 1973. Oxford, England: ----~C~lra-r-endon Press, 1975. Gombrich, E. H., and Ernest Kris. Caricature. Hammonds werth, Middlesex, England: Pengu~n Books, Ltd., 1940. Goodrich, Lloyd. John Sloan. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1952. Goodrich, Lloyd, and John I. H. Baur. American Art of Our Century. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Publishe~ 1961. Gullason, Thomas, ed. The Complete Novels of Stephen Crane. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and C~, Inc., 1967. Hagedorn, Herman, ed. The Theodore Roosevelt Treasury. New York: Putnam's Sons, 1957. Harris, Neil. The Land of Contrasts, 1880-1901. New York: George Braziller;-1970. Henri, Robert. The Art Spirit. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippencott Co., 1951. Higham, John. Writing American History. Bloomington, Indiana: Ind~ana Univers~ty Press, 1970. Hofmann, Werner. Caricature - From Leonardo to Picasso. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1957. Homer, William Innes. Robert Henri and His Circle. Ithaca, New York: Cornell Un~vers~ty Press, 1969. 162 Huneker, James. Bedouins. New York: Charles Scribners' Sons, 1920. Isham, Samuel •. The History of American Painting. New York: Macm~llan Co., 1936. James, William. The Will to Believe. New York: Dover Publications, Inc:;-r9S6. Jensen, Merrill. "Uncle Sam," The World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. XX. Chicago: Field Enterprises Educational Corporation, 1976, p. 52. Jones, Howard Mumford. The Age of Energy--Varieties of American Experience Df6s::r9-ts:- New York: V~k~ng Press, 1971. Kavolis, Vytautas. Artistic Expression - A Sociological Analysis. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1968. History on Art's Side. London: Cornell Uni-. versity Press, 1972. -- Knight, Grant c. The Strenuous Age in American Literature. New York: Van Rees Press, 1954. Kolka, Gabriel. Maincurrents in Modern American History. New York: Harper and Row,l976. Kouwenhoven, John A. The Arts in Modern American Civiliza tion. New York: w-=--w. Norton and Co., Inc., 1948. Larkin, Oliver. Art and Life'in America. New York: Rinehart and Winston, 1960-.- Leuchtenburg, William E., ed. The Unfinished Century- America Since 1900. Boston: L~ttle, Brown and Co., 1973. Lipset, Seymour. The First New Nation. New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1963. McDonald, Edward. A Bibliography of the Writings of Theo dare Dreiser. Philadelph~a: Cenataur Book Shop, 1928. McKinny, Rowland. The Eight. New York: Metropolitan Museum, 1954. 163 Malone, Dumas, and Basil Rauch. The New Nation 1865-1917. New York: Appleton-Century-Croft~l960. (6 vols.) Mellquist, Jerome. The Emergence of an American Art. Port Washington, New York: Kennikat Press, 1969~ Merton, Robert K. Social Theory and Social Structure. New York: Free Press, 1968. Michelson, Joel C., ed. American Personality and the Creative Arts. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Burge~ Publishing Co., 1969. Mott, Frank Luther. A History of American Magazines, 1885- 19.05, Vol. IV. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard- University Press, 1957. American Journalism. New York: Macmillan Co., 1962. Mumford, Lewis. The Brown Decades. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1971. The Golden Day. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1968. Munsterburg, Hugo. The Americans. New York: McClure, Phillips and Co.;-1904. Murray, James A. H., and others. The Oxford English Dictionary, Vol. IV. Oxford, England: Oxford Uni versity Press, 1970. Murrell, William. History of American Graphic Humor. New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1967. Nash, Roderick, ed. The Call of the Wild--1900-1916. New York: George Braziller, 1970-.- ---- Noble, David W. The Progressive Mind--1890-1917. Chicago: Rand McNally and Co., 1970. Nochlin, Linda. Realism and Tradition in Art--1848-1900. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1966. Norris, Charles. "Introduction," Collected Writings Hitherto Unpublished in Book Form, Vol. X, Frank Norris, Complete Works of Fra!ik NOrr"is:-Port Washington, New York: Kennikat-press, Inc., 1967. Norris, Frank. McTeague: A Story of San Francisco, ed. Donald Pizer. New York: ~v. W. Norton and Co., 1977. 164 Norris, Frank. The Responsibilities of the Novelist. New York: Doubleday, Page and Co., 1903-.-- Osborne, Harold. Aesthetics and Art Theory. New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., Inc., 1970. Ostrander, Gilman M. American CiVilization in the First Machine Age: 1890-1940. New York: Harper and Row, 1970. - Park, Robert E., Ernest W. Burgess, and Roderick D. McKenzie. The Clty. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1967. Farrington, Vernon Louis. Mai:ncurrents in American Thought --The Beginnings of Critical Realism:in America: 1860- 1920., Vol. III. lNew York: Harcourt-,-Brace and World, Inc., 1930. Partridge, Eric. The ~1acmillan Dictionary of Historical Slang. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1974. Perlman, Bennard B. The Inunortal Eight. Netv York: Expo sition Press, 196~ Pizer, Donald. The Novels of Frank Norris. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1966. Pollack, Frances M., ed. Index of Twentieth Century Artists--1~33~1937. New York: Arno Press, 1970. Porter, Fairfield. Thomas Eakins. New York: George Braziller, Inc., 1959. Pringle, Henry F. Theodore Roosevelt--A Biography. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1956. Richardson, E. P. Painting in America. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1965. Richardson, John Atkins. The Complete Book of Cartooning. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1977. Riis, Jacob August. How the Other Half Lives. New York: Sagamore Press, 1957.--- 165 Roof, Katherine. "The American Sense of Humor," ed. Roderick Nash, The Call of the Wild 1900-1916. New York: George Braziller,-r970, p:-ro9. Roosevelt, Theodore. "The Strenuous Life," American Ideals, The Strenuous Life, Realizable Ideals, Vol. XIII, The WQrks of Theodore-Roosevelt. New York: Charles Scribners' Sons, 1926. Rose, Barbara. American Art Since 1900. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1975. Saint-Gaudens, Homer. The American Artist and His Times. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Co., 1941. Santayana, George. The Genteel Tradition, ed. Douglas L. Wilson. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1967. Savile, Anthony. "The Place of Intention in the Concept of Art, .. ed. Harold Osborne, Aesthetics. London: Oxford University Press, 1972, pp. 158-176. Schwartz, Barry. The New Humanism. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1974. --- Shapiro, David, ed. Social Realism: Art as a Weapon. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co.~ 1973. Shapiro, Meyer. "Rebellion in Art," America in Crisis, ed. Daniel Aaron. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1952, pp. 203-242. Shikes, Ralph E. The Indignant Eye. Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press, 1970. Sloan, John. John Sloan's New York Scene, ed. Bruce St. John. New York: Harper and Row, 1965. Stebbins, Theodore E., Jr. American ~!aster Drawings and Watercolors. New York: Harper and Row, 1976. Sullivan, Mark. Our Times 1900-1925. New York: Charles Scribners' Sons, 1927. Wilmerding, John. American Art. New York: Penguin Books, 1976. Wittkower, Rudolf. Art and Architecture in Italy 1600- 1750. Baltimore;-Maryland: Penguin Books, Lt~l973. 166 Wolfe, Don M. The Image of Man in America, 2nd ed. New York: Thomas Y. CrowelliCo., 1970. Wright, Thomas. A History of Caricature and Grotesque in Literature and Art. London: v~rtue Brothers and co:-, 1865. Young, Mahonri Sharp. The Eight--The Realist Revolt in American Painting. :N.ew York: Watson-Guptill, 1973. Periodicals Alper, M. Victor. "American Hythologies in Painting, Part 2: City Life and Social Realism," Arts Magazine, Vol. 46, No. 3 (December 1971), 31-34. ---- Armstrong, Regina. "The New Leaders in American Illustra tion, Part IV: The Typists: McCarter, Yohn, Glackens, Shinn and Luks," The Bookman, Vol. 11, No. 3 (May 1900), 244-251. - Baury, Louis. "The Message of the Proletaire," The Bookman, Vol. 34, No. 4 {December 1911), 399-413. --- Benson, E. M. "The American Scene," American Magazine of Art, Vol. 27, No. 2 (February 1934), 53-66. -- Bowman, Ruth. "Nature, The Photograph and Thomas Anshutz," Art Journal, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Fall, 1973), 32-40. Brooks, VanWyck. "The Eight's Battle for u. S. Art," Art News, Vol. 53, No. 7 (November 1954), 41-43. Buckley, c. E. "Two Recent American Acquisitions," The St. Louis Art Museum Bulletin, Vol. 10, No. 2 (March April 1974-)-,-23-27. Carey, Elizabeth Luther. 11 George Luks," American Magazine of Art, Vol. 14, No. 2 {February 1923), 74-80. Cournos, John. "Three Painters of the New York School, 11 International Studio, Vol. 56, No. 224 (October 1915), 239-246. DeCasseres, Benjamin. "The Fantastic George Luks," New York Herald Tribune, September 10, 1933, pp. 10-11, 19. DuBois, Guy Pene. "George Luks and Flamboyance," The Arts, Vol, 3, No. 2 {February 1923), 107-118. 167 Du Bois, Guy Pene. "The Collection of Hrs. Arthur F. Egner," Arts and Decoration, Vol. 7 (August 1917), 475-478.-- Frost, Rosamund. "The Artist-Reporter: 1855-1945," Art News, Vol. 44, No. 11 (September 1945), 12-19. "George Luks, Lusty Proponent of American Individualism Is Dead," The Art Digest, Vol. 8, No. 4 (November 15, 1933), 5-6.-- Goodrich, Lloyd. "What is American in American Art? 11 Art in America, Vol. 51, No. 4 (August 1963), 24-39. Grci:na, Cesar. 11 John Dewey's Social Art and the Sociology of Art," The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 20, No. 4 (June 1962), 405-412-.-- -- Gunther, c. F. "1900: The American Scene,., Toledo Museum News, Vol. 7, No. 3 (Autumn, 1964), 63. Henri, Robert. "Progress in Our National Art Must Spring from the Development of Individuality of Ideas and Freedom of Expression:· A Suggestion for a New Art School,., The Craftsman, Vol. 15, No. 4 (January 1909), 387-401. Hunter, Sam. "'The Eight' - Insurgent Realists," Art in America, Vol. 44, No. 3 (Fall, 1956), 20-24. Katz, Leslie. "The Breakthrough of Anshutz," Arts Maga: zine, Vol. 37, No. 6 (March 1976), 26-29. ------ Kavolis, Vytautas. "Art Content and Social Involvement," Journal of Social Forces, Vol. 42, No. 4 (May 1964), 467-472. Lewis, Alfred Henry, ed. The Verdict, Vols. 1-4, December 19, 1898-November 12, 1900. "Luks Speaks Up, 11 The Art Digest, Vol. 7, No. 7 (January 1, 1933), 12, 29.--- McCloy, Helen. 11 Color and George Luks," Parnassus, Vol. 6, No. 3 (March 1934), 1-3. McCoy, Garnett. "Reaction and Revolution, 1900-1930, 11 Art in America, Vol. 53, No. 4 (August 1965), 68-87. McCormick, William B. "George Luks, Agitator,., Arts and Decoration, Vol. 4, No. 9 (July 1914), 335-3~ 168 New York World, 1896, microfilm. Newcomb, Russell. "Newark Holds Luks Show," Art News, Vol. 33, No. 7 (November 17, 1934}, 8. Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, 1896, microfilm. Rihani, Ameen. "Luks and Bellows - American Painting - Part III," International Studio, Vol. 75, No. 281 (August 1920), xxi-xxvii. Roberts, Mary Fanton. "Painting Real People Is the Purpose of George Luks' Art," The Touchstone, Vol. 8, No. 1 (October 1920), 32-38.--- Rosenberg, James. "Ghosts: The Exhibition of the New Society," International Studio, Vol. 72, No. 285 (December 1920}, LXI, LXII. Schinn, Everett. "Everett Shinn on George Luks: An Unpublished Memoir," Archives of Arneric·an Art, Vol. 16, No. 2 (April 1966), 1-20. Spargo, John. "George Luks, An American Painter of Great Originality and Force, Whose Art Relates to All the Experiences and Interests of Life," The Craftsman, Vol. 12, No. 6 (September 1907}, 599-607. Stuart, Evelyn Marie. "The American Exhibition," Inter national Studio, Vol. 72, No. 285 (December 1920), LXII. Stuart, Irving R. "Iconography of Group Personality Dynamics: Caricature and Cartoons," The Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 64 (October 1964}, 147-15~ Vanity Fair, Vols, 16, 17, 18, and 19 (1921-1922), Vol. 29 (1927}. Wall, J. T. "The Ashcan School: Transition in American Art," South Atlantic Quarterly, Vol. 69, No. 3 (Summer, 1970) 1 317-326. Watson, Forbes. "George Luks: Artist and 'Character,'" American Magazine of Art, Vol. 28, No. 1 (January 1935) , 21-26. 169 Wolf, Ben. "Philadelphia Story- Told by Four Artists," Art Digest, Vol. 20, No. 27 (October 15, 1945), 14. Young, M. J. "Luks Under the Elms," Apollo, Vol. 98, No. 137 (July 1973), 55-57. Catalogs American Paintings and Sculpture--1862-1932. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, Arno Press, 1969. The American Personality - The Artist-Illustrator of Life in the United States, 1860-1930. Introductionlby--- E. Maurice Bloch. Los Angeles, California: The Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, UCLA, 1976. Black, Mary. What is American in American Art? Introduc tion by Lloyd Goodrich. New-York: Clarkson ·N. Potter, Inc., Publishers, 1971. Blaidsell, Thomas c., Jr., Peter Selz, and Seminar. American Presidency and Political Cartoons. Berkeley, California: University Art Museum, 1976. Artists of the Philadelphia Press. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1945." Caricature and Its Role in Graphic Satire. Rhode Island: Museum of Ar~Rhode Island School of Design, 1971. The City in American Painting. Allenton, Pennsylvania: Allentown Art Museum, 1973. An Exhibition of Original Drawings of American Artists at the Huntington Library. San Marino, California: Hunt ington Library, 1937. An Exhibition of Watercolors, Drawings and Oil Paintin·gs ~George B. L·uks (1867-1933). Los Angeles, California: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1973. Catalog of an Exhibition of the Work of George Benjamin Luks-.- Forward by Arthur~ Egner-.- Newark, New Jersey: The Newark Museum, 1934. George Luks Drawings. Catalog No. 13. New York: Olana Gallery, n.d. 170 George Luks 1866-1933 - An Exhibition of Painting and Drawings dating from 1889 to 1931. Utica, New York: Museum of Art, ~1unson-Williams-Proctor Institute, 1973. Essays by Ira Glackens and Joseph s. Trovato. Goodrich, Lloyd. Thomas Eakins, Retrospective Exhibition. New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1970. Winslow Homer. New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1973. The Image of America in Caricature and Cartoon. Fort Worth, Texas:--Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, 1976. Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings ey George Luks. New York: c. W. Kaushear Art Galleries, 1923. Thomas Anshutz 1851-1912. New York: Graham Gallery, 1963. Thomas Anshutz: Paintings, Watercolors and Pastels. Intro duction by Sandra Leff. New York: Graham Gallery, 1979. Twentieth Century American Masters. New York: Kennedy Galleries, Inc., 1971 Unpublished Sources Bullard, Edgar John. "John Sloan and the Philadelphia Realists as Illustrators, 1890-1920," unpublished Master's thesis, UCLA, 1968. Talcott, Ralph Clayes. "The Watercolors of George Luks," unpublished Master's thesis, Pennsylvania State University. Wagner, Dean R. "A Guide to Illustrations by George B. Luks" for Vanity Fair--1914-1934. 171 Archives of American Art Archives of American Art, Detroit Positive Roll 671 Whitney Museum Papers 645-766 Geoge B. Luks Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Inst. Roll 917 Esther Williams Papers Archives of American Art Roll 668 Harry Steinberg papers - letters, clippings, catalogs, photographs, etc. re Luks' works Archives of American Art, Microfilm Detroit Roll N34 Institute of Arts New York Public Library Archives of American Art Detroit Roll NDU 2 Albert Duveen, New York City Archives of American Art Roll N58 New York Public Library Detroit Institute of Arts Scrapbooks of American Artists Archives of American Art Roll 95 Clippings, catalogs, scrapbooks, and a few letters, re Luks Archives of American Art, Detroit Roll NLU 1 George Luks Scrapbook 1902-1926 Interviews Bloch, Dr. E. Maurice. UCLA, Los Angeles, Spring, 1977. Conrad, Paul. Interview on television by news staff, Channel 2, ·Los Angeles, 6:55 p.m., November 29, 1979. Dike, Phil. Redlands, California, November 29, 1977. Vernon, Margarett. Los Angeles, December 1977. 172 Correspondence Blass, Charlotte. November 26, 1977. Bowman, Ruth. November 21, 1977. Breeskin, Adelyn D. December 16, 1977. Dike, Phil. December 15, 1977. Dodd, Lamar. March 1, 1978. Glackens, Ira. October 16, 1977; May 6, 1978. Golinkin, Ruth. November 21, 1977. Goodyear, Frank H., Jr. October 31, 1977. Grugan, Andy. December 21, 1977. Hayes, Bartlett. November 30, 1977. Hirsch, Joseph. December 11, 1977. Kraushaar, Antoinette. December 3, 1977. Perlman, Bennard B. November 17, 1977. Sloan, Helen Parr. November 15, 1977; October 30, 1978. Trovato, Joseph s. 1977-1979. Vernon, Margarett. 1977-1979. Miscellaneous Documents Luks, George. Letter, dated June 28, 1918, from the files of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Files, including Luks' enrollment in classes, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. APPENDIXES 173 APPENDIX A REMINISCENCES OF PHIL DIKE, FORMER STUDENT OF LUKSl A former student of George Luks, Phil Dike, is a well-known California watercolorist, living in Redlands, California, and recently retired from the faculty of Clarement Colleges in Pomona, California. A native Californian, Mr. Dike went to New York in the 1920s to study art. He studied for awhile at the Art Students League, and then for four months he attended classes at Luks' art school. What follows here is the recording of a casual conversation, including reminiscences and responses to questions. In addition to specific information, Mr. Dike was able to make comments about himself as well as scattered statements about art and life. According to Dike, Luks left the Art Students Leag~e faculty after an argument, subject unknown, but this was probably not .the first such argument. The school administration was unhappy with Luks' heavy drinking and there were probably other sources of irritation as well. Following this departure, Luks opened his own art school in New York. lA summary of a conversation between Phil Dike and the writer, Redlands, California, November 26, 1977. 174 175 The painting class taught by Luks which Dike attended was held in a building on Twenty-Second Street in a third floor studio. There were two rooms, one where Luks painted and one where the students worked. In Luks' room there was a bench where the students could sit to observe their teacher at work. Luks wanted the students to observe him paint with his characteristic flourishes. He liked to surprise them with his dexterity and flow of ideas. He might start a canvas in which he laid out a fish on a white dish, and finally finish the canvas with the subject being a man with a beard! He tended to adulterate his media with "letharge," a paint dryer, and many of his canvases demon strate this problem inasmuch as the pigment is cracked (See plates 9 and 11) . Mr. Dike had waited for a month to be admitted to Luks' class after leaving the Art Students League, and he was finally able to attend Luks' school with the aid of Lamar Dodd, now at the University of Georgia. It seemed to Dike that, for whatever the reasons, Luks was partial to students from the southern states and Dood was from Georgia. Luks asked Dike if he was a Southerner; and Dike responded affirmatively. (After all, Redlands is in the southern part of California!) Following four months of study with Luks, Dike returned to California. Dike suggests that Luks acquired a positive attitude towards the South while living with his mother and father in New Orleans. 176 Back to the class • • • it numbered about twenty five students, during the time Dike attended. Besides Dike and Dodd, others in the class included Marion Junkin, now in the art department atthe University of Virginia, a Miss Eisenberg, a Miss Rosenthal, whom Dike recalls as an excellent artist, Leon Sprague, and John Rose who now resides in La Jolla, California. Whenever Luks felt the students were getting less productive than they should, he would take them out into the city to see the scene and its inhabitants. Luks was concerned to have an impact on his students. He would comment, "You learned everything from me." At one time Dike had a painting which Luks had not yet criticized. Luks told his monitor, "Tell Dike I want to see his paint ing." The man told Dike that he would hide the work, because Luks might well paint over it! On one occasion Luks did contribute his touch to one of Dike's paintings. Dike enjoyed visiting the stock exchange during 1928, before the market crashed,and even painted the scene there. When Luks saw the painting, he said, "I like everything about it, but it needs a pivot place. I think one guy down there needs a green hat," and he painted in a green hat. Dike said the addition to his painting really did help, and he recently sold the work to a stockbroker in Southern California. At about the same time that Dike painted the stock exchange he was also inspired by Luks to paint a street scene with an 177 elevated train. Dike agrees that there is a subject matter link from Homer, Eakins, and Anshritz to the Eight. Although unable to make specific connections between Henri and Luks, he believes that Luks felt Henri's influence insofar as he had contact with Henri in the activities of the group. According to Dike, Henri caught the moment statically, whereas Luks was able to catch the movement of the moment. Of all the Eight,. Luks was probably closest to William Glackens, says Dike. Regarding subject matter, with the genre quality and stress on subject, Dike offered the idea that particular subject matter is painted according to mar ket demand. Dike believes that there was a feeling against French painting in this country at the turn of the century. American collectors felt the need to own paintings dealing with the city genre. Regardin_g color . • . . Dike says Luks was a mono chromatic painter, using browns, umber and sienna, with color accents. Luks hated the European use of color (this reference must be to the French Impressionists) . Because he was interested in the subject matter of the ·East side of New York, Luks did not like "pretty colors." Dike suggested that Luks' use of the weight of dark colors parallels Goya and, although there is no exact, recognized link, Goya and Luks shared qualities of masculine, brutal power in their work, as well as strong, human concerns. 178 Luks' concern for subject matter is illustrated repeatedly. One time in class the model did not arrive, and Luks offered himself as a substitute. He sat, talked, posed, slept. Dike painted Luks' portrait at this time, and it can be seen now at the Claremont campus gallery. Dike captured Luks at the drowsy, nodding-off time, half way between waking and sleeping. Another time, one morning on his way to class, Luks spotted a street vendor, and with the aid of members of the class, transported the man and his vegetable cart up three flights of stairs. Luks immedi ately began to paint a five-by-seven foot canvas, which was quite large in those days. And yet again, regarding sub ject matter, Luks offered a suggestion to the class, "I walked along Second Avenue and saw a horse in front of a store." He was referring to a stuffed horse, and he encouraged the class to go down and paint this colorful subject. Dike stated ~~at in those days the artis~ looked at nature, at what he saw around him, at his environment. He saw contrasts and, by portraying these contrasts, revealed drama. In that period of American history, the early twen tieth century, the picture surface was a stage. Luks dealt with subjects of controversy. He wanted to attract atten tion. While Henri was passive, Luks was involved with movement. 179 Dike reminisced that Luks remained a colorful per sonality in New York, easily recognized by his flamboyant cape. Luks was a respected and loved figure in the art world, and was sincere in his teaching endeavors. He was almost always involved in himself and the moment, sensitive to the vitality of New York. Luks acknowedged all kinds of people and could separate them as individuals--the hooker, the innocent child, the old, the young, the poor, and the rich. APPENDIX B LUKS DESCRIBES THE SLUMS IN AN INTERVIEW BY LOUIS BAURY George Luks knows the slums, and his canvases are vibrant with that knowledge. They possess, every one, that rare, intangible something which we term atmosphere, and beneath his uncompromising brush the mute, hagard creatures of what polite society is pleased to dub "low life" quicken into coherent being. "To the average person," he says, "the slums repre sent filth, squalour, and uncleanliness; to the philosopher they represent simply a refuge. In the sense which strives to make of them a thing apart--of a different order--there are no such things. Life in the slums is precisely what it is 'up-town,' save that 'up-town' it has the advantage of a protecting mantle of prosperity, or at least the semblance of prosperity, whereas in the slums it is bared to the nud ity of abject poverty. That is the slums's only real dis- tinguishing trait: Poverty. Filth and dirt are quite unessential and incidental. There are plenty of fashion able women who, returning from some ball, throw their evening clothes over a chair for a maid to pick up whose homes would be quite as dirty as the worst of the sort they deplore were their sphere of life suddenly changed. Human ity is essentially the same. The same types will be found in every walk of life, only because they are desperately poor they will more explicitly and unmistakably demonstrate their true selves. The proof of this, if any proof is needed, lies in the fact that the upper classes are con stantly filling their ranks from the people of the slums while simultaneously the slums are recruiting their deni zens from the upper classes. That's one of the most signi ficant facts about the whole thing. The personnel of the proletaire is forever shifting. No sooner has a place been vacated by one who has gone beyond than there slips into it some other who is sinking." "No man--at least, no man who has anything at all to him--wants to proclaim the fact that he· is 'down and out.' When he reaches that stage his desire is to hide his condition, to crawl away somewhere out of sight where the fact that he is a failure will not make him liable to con stant taunts and sneers, where he can have a chance to recuperate before he throws himself once more into the 180 181 universal struggle for success. So he turns naturally to the slums. It is the place where he belongs--where his poverty is eminently in character. He can live cheaper there than anywhere else. With a penny in the slums a man can buy something that will help sustain life. Can he do that 'up-town'? Not a bit of it! Even a single roll will cost him two or three cents in the 'better' sections. That is simply one reason why the slums form a veritable haven for the temporarily 'down and out'--a refuge in the hour of their need • " "The poor classes, hm'lever," proceeds Mr. Luks, "are not composed exclusively of those who have lost their money or their standing. There are hundreds of thousands who have been born poor, and these, too, claim the slums as their abode. But that does not for a moment indicate that their chief object is to work their way out of the slums, leaving behind all connected with them. Endlessly, tire lessly the struggle for betterment goes on among them. The spirit of it communicates itself to the others too. It is not in human nature to repose, passive and restless, on the bottom. The result is that all hands go to work to pull themselves up out of their rut of poverty, and the dominant message of the slums, in so far as it can be confined to the bounds of one sentence, becomes: 'We strive.' There are many other notes in the song that the slums are singing but that one expresses the prevailing spirit of it all. And that spirit bears fruition, too. The people do over come their poverty and pass on into other spheres. It is this which accounts for the changing nature of slum popula tions. Happy it is for humanity, though, that the slums themselves remain. There will always be·people who will go 'down and out,' and it is well that there should be a refuge ready at hand for them." That this refuge is a ghastly one Luks does not believe. "Down there people are what they are," he holds. "In more polite circles it is easy to pose and deceive, but in the slums a man must stand upon his merits. He has nothing else upon which to stand. The poseur is distin guished at once and he is practically the only type that will not be tolerated, for the people there.possess appre ciation--keen appreciation--and brains of an excellent order. I do not believe that starved and neglected genius abounds in the slums as you sometimes hear it stated that it does. Genius is a thing that is bound to come out. Starvation won't keep it down. But there are splendid 182 active minds there--hundred of them--and there is a com mercial sense in all slums which is deep, far-seeing, and highly developed. It is this which enables so many to work their way up to prosperity."l lLouis Baury, "The Message of the Proletaire," The Bookman, Vol. 34, No. 4 (December 1911), 400-404. APPENDIX C BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES George Benjamin Luks was born August 13, 1866, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, one of three sons, and was raised in the mining town of Shenendoah, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, to date, there has been no scholarly, detailed biography of Luks. The family ancestory is Dutch, French, and Bavarian. Luks' father, a physician, enjoyed art for personal amusement, was an excellent draftsman, and he encouraged his son, George, to pursue his artistic inter- ests. Luks' mother was also a talented amateur artist. At the age of seventeen Luks reportedly attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.l While at the Academy, in 1884, he enrolled in a class taught by Thomas Anshutz. The Academy files contain notes which include Luks'statement that Anshutz had been his best teacher.2 In 1885 Luks travelled to Europe, visiting Dusseldorf., Munich, Paris, and London. He probably attended few formal classes, preferring to visit museums where he had the opportunity to see the works of Dutch and Spanish artists whose influence lPennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts records indicate Luks enrolled in "Life and Antique Classes" in April 1884, and paid a $4.00 fee. See Chapter 1, p. 16. 2see Chapter 1, p. 16. 183 184 is apparent in his own work. Luks returned to Philadelphia in the early 1890s to work as a newspaper artist. Beginning in 1894, he worked first as an illustrator for the Philadelphia Press where his companions were John Sloan, Everett Shinn, and William Glackens. While living in Philadelphia Luks shared an apartment with Shinn and later, in New York, lived for a while with Glackens. The four artists worked together in the art department of the Press, where they received on-the- job educational experiences. As artist-reporters, they sharpened their memories and perceptive skills, serving as veritable human cameras. They observed news events, deter- mined the important facts, and quickly rendered these facts for their editors. Although the camera was being used for vacation snapshots, it was not employed yet to cover news stories. Everett Shinn described the "on the spot" process of drawing in which sketches, made at the scene of a news event, were executed hurriedly with short-hand scrawls, coded descriptive lines, and marginal notes. "At the draw- ing boards those marks would metamorphize into a scene of action."3 Shinn evidently observed Luks and wrote: A book that served as diversion on the way to an assignment offered its marginal and even printed pages for pictorial data. Luks nearly filled Hugo's Toilers of the Sea with galloping polo 3Everett Shinn, "Life on the Press," Artists of the Philadelphia Press (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1945), p. 12. 185 ponies at an international meet. The~ were master pieces superimposed on a masterpiece. During those early years in Philadelphia, Luks was a member of the group of artists who met weekly at Robert Henri's studio. According to Sloan, the "Philadelphia Four," Luks, Sloan, Shinn, and Glackens, painted in their spare time. Each year the "Four 11 worked for the Press, c. W. Parker, a promoter from New York, came to Phila- delphia to run a sale of drawings and paintings by the newspaper artists.s In 1896, during the Spanish-American War, Luks worked for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, and travelled to Cuba for about three months. He accompanied corres- pendent Maurice O'Leary, whose stories he was supposed to illustrate.6 By the end of March 1896, no more of Luks' drawings appeared and it is suggested that he may have been relieved of his position for excessive drinking. By April 1896, Luks had moved to New York where he worked for the New York World, first as a news illustrator, and then as a replacement for R. H. Outcault as creator of the weekly comic page known variously as "Hogan's Alley," "The Yellow Kid," and "McFadden's Flats." In 1898 and 1899 4Ibid. 5John Sloan, "Artists of the Press, Artists of the Philadelphia Press (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadel phia Museum of Art, 1945), p. 7. 6Bennard B. Perlman, The Immortal Eight (New York: Exposition Press, 1962), p. 8~ 186 Luks worked as a political cartoonist for the journal, The Verdi.ct, which was published with an editorial policy favorable to the Democratic party. In about 1902 Luks turned his energies to painting, and in January 1904 he entered paintings in a group show at the National Arts Club, where he showed with Henri, Sloan, and Glackens. 7 By 1905 the Philadelphia Four were known as the New York Realists. In 1907 the National Academy of Design, which dominated over dealers and exhibitors, rejected a painting by Luks, and Henri, a member of the Academy, so resented this act that he removed two of his own paintings from consideration by the Academy. As the result of the rejection of their paintings of realistic sub- ject matter, the New York Realists joined with three other artists, Maurice Prendergast, Ernest La~.vson, and Arthur B. Davies, to arrange an exhibit of their works at the Macbeth Gallery, February 1908. Although these men became known as the Eight group after this exhibition, they did not start a new shcool of painting in terms of style, rather they dealt with subjects that had been considered inappropriate for paintings in terms of attitudes and treatment.8 As well as participating in his own development as 7Ibid., p. 127. 8Sloan says the Eight was a name given to the group by Frederick J. Gregg, a writer for the N·ew York Evening Sun. Sloan, Artists of the Philadelphial?res-s-;-p. 7. 187 a painter, Luks was active in the organizational activities for the Armory Show of 1913, and exhibited six works in that famous show. He continued to paint and exhibit his works throughout the country during his lifetime, and there have been posthumous shows as well. From 1920 to 1924 Luks supplemented his income by teaching at the Art Students League and, after being dismissed, he opened his own art school at 7 East Twenty-Second Street, on the third floor.9 Luks began to do drawings for Vanity Fair magazine in 1914 and continued to do so until his death.10 Most of his mature years were spent in New York, with the exception of brief times in New England, Nova Scotia, and Pennsylvania. He received recognition for his paintings as the recipient of many honors and awards, including the Temple Gold Medal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, for Houston Street New York, and the Logan Medal of the Chicago Art Institute for his portrait of Otis Skinner. Luks became a legend in his own lifetime. He ere- ated an image of himself as American, dynamic, and vigorous. He boasted about a prizefighting career and he was known variously as "Chicago Whitey," the "Harlem Spider," and "Lusty Luks. 11 Even obituary notices give him credit for 9charlotte Blass, former student, in a letter to this writer, November 26, 1977. lOnean Wagner, "A Guide to the Illustrations of George B. Luks, in vanity Fair, 1914-1934," Lock Haven State College Library, unpublished. 188 these titles.ll Luks may have diminished his power as an artist by working overtime on the development of his reputation as a colorful personality, _a "character. nl2 He died a violent death, October 29, 1933, probably the victim of a barroom brawl, although newspaper and magazine accounts state a more peaceful and natural case of death.l3 The biographical material on Luks is sketchy, at best, outlining as it does the general progress of the artist's career, but key pieces are missing. In the final analysis, Luks is best known and understood through his creative endeavors, and thus his oeuvre must act as descrip- tion for the man, his attitudes, beliefs, and philosophy. ll"obituaries," Art News, Vol. 32, No. 5 {November 4, 1933)' 10. 12Forbes Watson, "George Luks: Artist and Charac ter," American Magazine of Art, Vol. 28, No. 11 {November 1935), 23. -- --- 13"0bituaries," Art News, 10.