Urban Reflections - An exhibition showcases works by urban realist Everett Shinn and his contemporaries

An exhibition showcases works by urban realist Everett Shinn and his contemporaries. Ashcan painter Everett Shinn’s fascination with the stage was a focus throughout his career. His ability to capture movement and drama in theatrical and urban settings distinguishes his work.

- By Allan Kollar

Sept. 23-Oct.23, 2024

A.J. Kollar Fine Paintings By appointment Seattle, WA 98112 t: [phone], www.ajkollar.com

Ashcan painter Everett Shinn’s fascination with the stage was a focus throughout his career. His ability to capture movement and drama in theatrical and urban settings distinguishes his work.

Night Travelers, one of Shinn’s works on paper portraying gritty, urban realism, presents two figures: one sitting atop a cart, engaging verbally, and the other standing downtrodden in silence. With their luggage cast aside, we might assume the pair has missed the last train out of town.

Everett Shinn (1876-1953), Night travelers, ca., 1929. Watercolor and gouache on paper, 6x7 in, signed lower right.

Though this painting is not dated, a clue is present in the attire: the female figure’s tilted hat and the pompom shoulder design of her vest are indicative of fashions popular in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The man’s fedora and buttoned-down trench coat also coincide with this era.

The painting could nearly be a still from the silver screen––Shinn has composed a symbolic narrative. The woman’s body language, with her hands on her hips, her leg outstretched and her high heel piercing the void space between the two figures, is contrasted by the man’s downward gaze and reserved posture. Behind them, the handle of the railroad cart rises in a cross, the red light shining behind it suggestively. What happens next is a question left to the viewer.

Meanwhile, Back Stage is one of Shinn’s paintings taking place in the theater. Though painted in 1945, it is emblematic of the type of theatrical painting Shinn produced throughout his career. The woman onstage is isolated, charged with entertaining the audience alone.