Shine, Washington Square, New York City

1923

John Sloan

(American, 1871–1951)

Culture

America

Medium

lithograph

Measurements

Image: 18.2 x 22.7 cm (7 3/16 x 8 15/16 in.); Sheet: 24.3 x 38.7 cm (9 9/16 x 15 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Mr. and Mrs. Lewis B. Williams Collection 1941.526

Catalogue raisonné

Morse 210

State

only state

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

Washington Arch, seen behind the figures in this print, was dedicated in 1895 as a monument to the centenary of George Washington’s inauguration.

Description

In the 1920s, a growing number of women worked in secretarial and retail jobs in America’s cities. Many artists could not resist portraying these unaccompanied women as they enjoyed the city on their lunch hours or spent their meager wages in pursuit of fun. Here, John Sloan captured a humorous dynamic in Washington Square Park, near his Greenwich Village apartment. As two young women converse, they are oblivious to the older man on the same bench who appears fascinated by the available view of the woman’s leg.