The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 14, 2024

Bandit's Cave

Bandit's Cave

1920
(American, 1871–1951)
Platemark: 17.4 x 12.4 cm (6 7/8 x 4 7/8 in.); Sheet: 24 x 18.5 cm (9 7/16 x 7 5/16 in.)
© Delaware Art Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Catalogue raisonné: Morse 195
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

This print implies one offshoot of the shift in culture during Prohibition: previously segregated, men and women now imbibed alcohol freely together at illicit drinking establishments.

Description

John Sloan made this print in the year that Prohibition was passed in the United States, banning the sale, manufacture, and transport of alcoholic beverages. The etching depicts two men attempting to persuade two women to join them in a downstairs establishment for—as the sign says—“tea” and “dance.” The era’s viewers would have recognized that such “tea rooms” were in fact speakeasies, providing access to prohibited beverages. The entryway is crowded with curious patrons, and one woman begins to descend the steps.
  • Helen and Albert Borowitz, Cleveland, Ohio
  • Ashcan School Prints and the American City, 1900-1940. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 18-December 26, 2021).
  • {{cite web|title=Bandit's Cave|url=false|author=John Sloan|year=1920|access-date=14 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.270