Artist: George Luks (1867–1933)
Title: Holiday on the Hudson
Date: circa 1912
Collection: Cleveland Museum of Art
What I love about this painting:
These are the working-class people of New York on a sunny Sunday in high summer. Fishing has been good, and while the oyster boats and small fishing dories have seen heavy use, they’ve been tidied up a bit, and everyone is looking forward to a carefree day on the water. The fishermen in their sleeveless shirts are quickly moving ropes and gear around to make room for the ladies.
I love the life instilled in the painting, the action, the colors, the intensity, and the way it shouts, “Freedom beckons,” even if that freedom is only temporary.
I see a story here, a historical romance. I imagine that some of this group of friends are the servants of the rich enjoying their half-day off. Besides the fishermen, we have footmen, maids, cooks, and housekeepers. I like to think they’re heading to a favorite beach for a clambake, that time-honored seaside picnic that even the poor working-class could afford.
Who is courting whom? Will they get married?
About the artist, via Wikipedia:
George Benjamin Luks (August 13, 1867 – October 29, 1933) was an American artist, identified with the aggressively realistic Ashcan School of American painting.
After travelling and studying in Europe, Luks worked as a newspaper illustrator and cartoonist in Philadelphia, where he became part of a close-knit group, led by Robert Henri, that set out to defy the genteel values imposed by the influential National Academy of Design. His best-known paintings reflect the life of the poor and hard-pressed on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. [1]
For more about George Luks, I highly recommend continuing to read his biography here: George Luks – Wikipedia
Credits and Attributions:
IMAGE: Wikimedia Commons contributors, “File:George Luks (American, 1866–1933) – Holiday on the Hudson – 1933.2291 – Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:George_Luks_(American,_1866%E2%80%931933)_-_Holiday_on_the_Hudson_-_1933.2291_-_Cleveland_Museum_of_Art.jpg&oldid=779825858 (accessed June 27, 2024).
[1]Wikipedia contributors, “George Luks,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_Luks&oldid=1217710156 (accessed June 27, 2024).
Life in the Realm of Fantasy 