Talk:Ashcan School

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Origin of name[edit]

There should be something on how "Ashcan School" started out as a kind of derogatory term... AnonMoos (talk) 14:13, 4 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

"It was eight years later, however, in 1916, that the group got their evocative name. John Sloan, Robert Henri, and George Bellows were also illustrators for the well-known socialist magazine, The Masses, and one of their staff members voiced a complaint that there were too many “pictures of ashcans and girls hitching up their skirts on Horatio Street.” The artists were amused and flattered, and the name stuck."[1] Bus stop (talk) 15:57, 4 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Hmm, I had the vague impression that the name originated as some kind of snide insult by an art critic, but either way, if it can be documented, it should be added to the article... AnonMoos (talk) 05:58, 5 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
"Ashcan School" is a play on the use of the term "school" in many art groupings such as Venetian school of art and Bolognese school of art. Others can be found for instance at Category:Italian art movements. I would say it is a tongue-in-cheek reference because "ashcans" would hardly constitute a lofty-enough element in painting to denote a "school" of artists. According to the source a complaint was issued by The Masses that there were too many "pictures of ashcans and girls hitching up their skirts on Horatio Street." The group had already been working together for 8 years before the complaint was issued and the artists themselves apparently seized upon the name "ashcan school", probably for their own entertainment.

I'm not sure what should be said in the article. Perhaps:

"Ashcan school" is a tongue-in-cheek reference to other "schools of art". Its origin is in a complaint found in a publication called The Masses alleging that there were too many "pictures of ashcans and girls hitching up their skirts on Horatio Street." The artists had already been working together for 8 years at that point. They were amused by the reference and the name stuck"[2]

I would place it as a second paragraph in the Origin and development section. Pinging AnonMoos. Bus stop (talk) 16:45, 10 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I've gone ahead and made the edit. It could probably be improved. I agree with AnonMoos that something should be said about the somewhat odd name "ashcan school". Bus stop (talk) 14:54, 12 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry for my slowness, but was the complaint printed in the publication, or was it spoken out loud by the staff member? AnonMoos (talk) 00:30, 16 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

American Visions[edit]