Winter Night

Artist Everett Shinn (American, 1876-1953)

Date1903

DimensionsH: 20 1/2 in. (52 cm); W: 21 3/4 in. (55.2 cm)

MediumPastel and watercolor on board.

ClassificationDrawings

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number

1950.296

Not on View

Label TextThe crush of people out on a busy street after dark attests to New York’s reputation as a constantly bustling metropolis—the “city that never sleeps.” With horns in their hands, people are moving rapidly to spread the news or to celebrate, guided by electric streetlamps. The cold breeze carrying snow flurries is indicated by swirling streaks of white. Shinn was formerly a newspaper sketch artist, which forced him to rapidly take down images in the moment. He transferred this skill to the medium of pastel, which allowed him to add a sense of immediacy with quick lines, embellished later with rich colors. Shinn fully embraced the urban environment in his art, similar to the other Ashcan School artists. However, he was more intrigued than most of his colleagues by the glamorous uptown life and theater lights, using them as themes in many of his artworks.Published ReferencesToledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, American Paintings, Toledo, 1979, pp. 98, 99, pl. 154.

Exhibition HistoryAndover, Addison Gallery of American Art, 1950.

Toledo Museum of Art, George Bellows and New York, 1900-1930, Feb. 14 - Apr. 21, 2013 (University of Michigan student show).

Toledo Museum of Art, Looks Good on Paper: Masterworks and Favorites, Oct. 10, 2014-Jan. 11, 2015.

TMA, The City, November 6, 2015-February 14, 2016.