Some were independent and stayed put. Those who traveled and worked abroad, however, always returned to their American roots. All the drawings in this exhibition come together in one room like some heady concentrate. Because it is a precept show for a course taught by Professor John Wilmerding, it comes to us without a catalog and not a shred of fanfare. There is something refreshing about the absence of prompts, whether from a text or an audio headset.
Viewers are able to reach their own conclusions and make their own connections.
We notice, for example, that the distinction between drawing, and drawing for publication does not exist for artists like Prendergast, Sloan, and Glackens. Even Winslow Homer drew for Harpers Weekly during the Civil War. Everett Shinn's New York in Winter 1935 would have been welcomed in the pages of any illustrated magazine of his day. I am speaking, of course, of Stuart Davis. After 1940, he adopted themes of jazz culture and urban signage which coalesced in his work.