The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of May 8, 2024
Social Patron
1947–51
(American, 1916–2001)
Paper: 28 x 35.6 cm (11 x 14 in.); Matted: 40.6 x 50.8 cm (16 x 20 in.)
Gift of Howard Greenberg 2009.484
© Estate of Louis Faurer
Location: not on view
Description
This image by Louis Faurer portrays a patron of one of the dime-a-dance halls, or taxi dance halls, that appeared in Times Square in the 1930s and lasted into the 1970s. Lonely men spent a dime per dance to escort “beautiful girls” around the dance floor. Paid half the price of the ticket, the women could earn—by working just a few hours each night—two or three times the salary of women in professions such as factory or retail work. In 1931 there were more than 100 such dance halls in New York City alone, visited by 35,000 to 50,000 men every week.- A New York Minute: Street Photography, 1920-1950. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 11-November 7, 2021).
- {{cite web|title=Social Patron|url=false|author=Louis Faurer|year=1947–51|access-date=08 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2009.484