George Bellows

(American, 1882–1925)

Dey's Woims In It (Disappointments of the Ash Can)

ink on paper

signed Geo Bellows, J.B.E and titled (lower edge)

7 1/8 x 5 3/8 in.

This lot is located in Chicago.

Provenance:

R.H. Love Galleries, Inc., Chicago

Acquired from the above

Private Collection, Illinois

Literature:

The Masses, February 5, 1914, p. 18, illus.

Lot Note:

The present drawing of three hungry men inspecting a worm-ridden ashcan was reproduced in the February 5, 1914 issue of The Masses, a populist New York socialist magazine. Around 1912-1914, Bellows, along with Stuart Davis and John Sloan, began to contribute to the magazine, emphasizing class distinctions in their work, satirizing the wealthy and portraying the poor as truly disadvantaged. To other Masses artists, such as cartoonist Art Young, this posture was politically irresponsible. Young indirectly referred to the present drawing when he declared that “they {these artists} want to run pictures of ash cans and girls hitching up their skirts on Horatio Street." Thus, the term was unwittingly coined in a negative context.

George Bellows (American, 1882–1925)

Dey's Woims In It (Disappointments of the Ash Can)

George Bellows (American, 1882–1925)

Dey's Woims In It (Disappointments of the Ash Can)