Levine’s Style

Ashcan School

Jack Levine is associated with the style of art known as “Ashcan.”  The name Ashcan comes from the fact that these artists liked to portray the grungy details of ordinary life.   They tended to paint scenes of urban New York with its poverty and its non-picturesque subject matter.  The Ashcan School of artists is also referred to as “The Eight” or the “New York Realists;” however, Ashcan, originally a derisive name given by a critic, is the name that the group is most commonly known as.  Some of the other artists known for this style were George Bellows, Robert Henri, John Sloan, and William Glackens.

Jack Levine, Medicine Show IV                                                                                                                                                                   George Bellows, Cliff Dwellers

 Levine’s painting is similar to Bellows painting because they both show ordinary scenes of everyday life.  The people in them are not fancy.  They are crowded together in a large mass that almost becomes a blob of colors and brushstrokes, due to the fact that both artists used rough, expressionistic brushstrokes.  Both Levine and Bellows were very interested in showing urban life at its grittiest, and each artist used a dull, grungy color palette.

Levine and Bellows differ from each other in that Levine’s work has satire in it.  He was interested in showing how swindlers trick ordinary people, whether by selling them unncessary goods, or other means.  Bellows, on the other hand, does not have social comment.  He seems to just record what he sees.

Levine’s Philosophy

Jack Levine was interested in showing the underbelly of urban life – all of the swindlers, cheats, liars, and such that preyed upon the ordinary public.  He often depicted crooked politicians up to no good.  He wanted to point out the injustices in society because “some things have to be said.”  He used satire to point out the corruption of society.  He also said that “Justice is more important than good looks.”  This philosophy fit well with the Ashcan artists because they also wanted to show reality, however ugly it may be.

Sources:  ArtLex.  http://www.artlex.com/;  Jack Levine.  http://jacklevine.org/