Art

To love a painting is to feel that this presence is… not an object but a voice.

~ Andre Malraux ~

A Woman’s Work
by
John Sloan

I am not entirely sure of why I was drawn to this painting; but I was and still am, though with a bit of somber appreciation. This is not an unfamiliar sight to me; I cannot help but think about how difficult a job this woman was doing. Can you imagine trying to get those whites so bright?

“Trained as a journalist, the young Sloan explored social issues more vigorously than most the painters of his time, portraying working-class urbanites engaged in ordinary activities. He observed this particular scene through arear window of his Manhattan apartment. Perched on a narrow fire escape, a woman hangs fresh laundry to dry on clotheslines strung between tenements. As evidenced by the painting, the labors of American women at the turn of the 1900’s were most often confined to the domestic realm.”

http://www.clevelandart.org/art/1964.160

Art can never exist without naked beauty displaced.

~ William Blake ~

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *