Elena Rossi
The Eight, a group of American painters, exhibited together only once, in New York City in 1908, but established one of the main currents in 20th-century American painting. The group included Robert Henri, Everett Shinn, John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies, Ernest Lawson, Maurice Prendergast, George Luks, and William J. Glackens. George Bellows later joined them. The group was subject to attacks in the press, but their well-publicized exhibition at the Macbeth Galleries in New York in 1908 brought them national attention. They were also known as the revolutionary black gang, a reference to the artists' dark palette.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Members | Robert Henri, Everett Shinn, John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies, Ernest Lawson, Maurice Prendergast, George Luks, William J. Glackens, and George Bellows |
| Leader | Robert Henri |
| Style | Realism, rebellion against Impressionism and academic realism |
| Goal | Bring art into closer touch with everyday life |
| Exhibition | Group show in 1908 at the Macbeth Gallery in New York |
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What You'll Learn
- 'The Eight' exhibited together only once, in New York City in 1908
- The group included Robert Henri, Everett Shinn, John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies, Ernest Lawson, Maurice Prendergast, George Luks, and William J. Glackens
- The artists established their own artistic society, influenced by their leader Robert Henri
- Five members of 'The Eight' were Ashcan artists, with the other three painting in a different style
- The group's exhibition in 1908 brought them national attention and helped increase sales and critical attention for Ashcan art
'The Eight' exhibited together only once, in New York City in 1908
"The Eight" was a group of American artists devoted to depicting urban realism in their own unique styles. They were considered pioneers of modern American art, establishing one of the main currents in 20th-century American painting. The group included Robert Henri, the leader, Everett Shinn, John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies, Ernest Lawson, Maurice Prendergast, George Luks, and William J. Glackens. George Bellows later joined them.
The Eight exhibited together only once, in New York City in 1908, at the Macbeth Gallery. This exhibition was a significant event in the art world, as it was a direct reaction against slights by the National Academy of Design. The group's determination to bring art into closer touch with everyday life greatly influenced the course of American art. They established their own artistic society in the bustling neighbourhoods of New York, aiming to create a native American painting style. Their work often depicted street scenes of the poor and common sections of New York City, a subject that was considered unfitting for the Academy.
The exhibition in 1908 was well-attended but received mixed reviews. While some critics admired the daring of the work, others were shocked by what they saw as poor draftsmanship and dreary subject matter. The Eight, as a group, had diverse artistic styles. Lawson was an impressionist, Prendergast a decorative painter, and Davies a symbolist who created dreamy, twilight scenes evolved from lyrical allegories rather than contemporary life. The realism of the remaining five was also modified by individual temperament and personal experience.
Despite only exhibiting together once, the influence of The Eight extended beyond their time. They inspired later artists such as George Bellows, Reginald Marsh, and Richard Estes. Their art provides a glimpse into life in New York City at the beginning of the 20th century. The Eight's legacy lies in their rebellious spirit and their commitment to bringing art closer to the everyday lives of people, challenging the dominance of European aesthetics in American academic and aesthetic traditions.
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The group included Robert Henri, Everett Shinn, John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies, Ernest Lawson, Maurice Prendergast, George Luks, and William J. Glackens
The Eight, a group of American painters, included Robert Henri, Everett Shinn, John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies, Ernest Lawson, Maurice Prendergast, George Luks, and William J. Glackens. They exhibited together only once, in New York City in 1908, but they established one of the main currents in 20th-century American painting. Robert Henri was the leader of the group. Their work was a reaction against an American academic and aesthetic tradition that was subservient to European aesthetics. The Eight established their own artistic society, embracing artistic freedom and focusing on energetic painting and fresh, accessible subject matter. Their work often depicted urban themes, and they were key figures in the realist movement in the visual arts. Their paintings were dark-hued and vibrant, portraying street scenes and daily life in pre-WW I New York and Paris.
William Glackens, for example, embraced a "highly personal colouristic style" that broke from the Ashcan approach. He was an integral part of the group and is known for his work in helping Albert C. Barnes to acquire the European paintings that form the nucleus of the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. He also served as the president of the Society of Independent Artists, which aimed to provide broader exhibition opportunities for lesser-known artists.
In contrast to some of his friends among The Eight, such as Sloan and Luks, whose personal lives were turbulent, Glackens enjoyed a happy marriage, a content home life, and a steady career. Everett Shinn was also a friend of the Glackens family, often gathering at their home in New York. Shinn was a key figure in the realist movement, along with Glackens, Henri, Sloan, Luks, and the others.
The Eight were also known as the Ashcan School, a term derived from their rejection of the formal boundaries of artistic beauty laid down by the conservative National Academy of Design. Their work was considered daring by some critics but was also criticised for poor draftsmanship and dreary subject matter. Despite this, the group's determination to bring art into closer touch with everyday life greatly influenced the course of American art.
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The artists established their own artistic society, influenced by their leader Robert Henri
The Eight were a group of eight American painters who exhibited together only once, in New York City in 1908. The group included Robert Henri, Everett Shinn, John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies, Ernest Lawson, Maurice Prendergast, George Luks, and William J. Glackens. George Bellows later joined them.
The Eight's determination to bring art into closer touch with everyday life greatly influenced the course of American art. Reacting against an American academic and aesthetic tradition that was subservient to European aesthetics, the group established their own artistic society. Their unity consisted of a desire to tell certain truths about the city and modern life they felt had been ignored by the suffocating influence of the Genteel Tradition in the visual arts.
The exhibition that brought The Eight national attention was held at the Macbeth Galleries in New York in 1908. It was a success and brought wider exposure, greater sales, and more critical attention to the group and their artistic style. A few years after their only joint exhibition, the eight painters were absorbed into a larger group called the Ashcan School, which included artists such as Edward Hopper, Glenn Coleman, and Jerome Myers.
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Five members of 'The Eight' were Ashcan artists, with the other three painting in a different style
The Eight were a group of American painters who exhibited together only once, in New York City in 1908. The group included Robert Henri, Everett Shinn, John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies, Ernest Lawson, Maurice Prendergast, George Luks, and William J. Glackens. George Bellows later joined them. Five members of The Eight—Henri, Sloan, Glackens, Luks, and Shinn—were Ashcan artists. The Ashcan School was a group of artists who rebelled against both American Impressionism and academic realism, the two most respected and commercially successful styles in the US at the time. They wanted to bring art into closer touch with everyday life and found inspiration in journalism and urban settings. Robert Henri, in some ways the spiritual father of this school, "wanted art to be akin to journalism... he wanted paint to be as real as mud, as the clods of horse-shit and snow, that froze on Broadway in the winter."
The other three members of The Eight—Arthur B. Davies, Ernest Lawson, and Maurice Prendergast—painted in a different style. Davies painted dreamy, twilight scenes evolved from lyrical allegories rather than from contemporary life. Lawson adopted a style that was lyrically atmospheric. Prendergast utilized the decorative patterns of colour he found in the work of the French Nabi group in his translations of the American landscape.
Despite these deviations in style, the artists of The Eight banded together for their 1908 exhibition at the Macbeth Gallery, organizing it as a direct reaction against slights by the National Academy of Design. The show received mixed reviews: some critics admired the daring of the work, while others were shocked by what they saw as poor draftsmanship and dreary subject matter. A few years after their only joint exhibition, the eight painters were absorbed into a larger group called the Ashcan school, which included Bellows, Edward Hopper, Glenn Coleman, Eugene Higgins, and Jerome Myers.
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The group's exhibition in 1908 brought them national attention and helped increase sales and critical attention for Ashcan art
The Eight, a group of American painters, exhibited together only once, in 1908, at the Macbeth Gallery in New York. This exhibition brought them national attention and helped increase sales and critical attention for Ashcan art. The group included Robert Henri, Everett Shinn, John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies, Ernest Lawson, Maurice Prendergast, George Luks, and William J. Glackens. George Bellows later joined them.
The exhibition was a reaction against the conservative jury selections and perceived slights by the National Academy of Design. The Eight wanted to bring art into closer touch with everyday life and establish a native American painting style, free from European aesthetic traditions. They chose to celebrate America and American art, with diverse subjects, including cityscapes of New York, coastal scenes of Maine, and urban dwellers of various ages.
The show was well-attended and became recognized as a watershed exhibition of 20th-century vanguard art. While it received mixed reviews, with some critics admiring the daring of the work and others finding the subject matter dreary, it was a pivotal moment for the group and the development of American modernism. The Eight's exhibition challenged the authority of conservative artistic institutions and encouraged a new generation of younger artists to embrace artistic individuality and new forms of expression.
The exhibition also contributed to the dissemination of new artistic styles, such as French modernist influences through Maurice's distinct and colourful scenes of St. Malo. This exhibition marked a turning point, establishing one of the main currents in 20th-century American painting and increasing recognition for the Ashcan School, of which The Eight later became a part.
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Frequently asked questions
The Eight were a group of American painters who exhibited together only once, in New York City in 1908. They established one of the main currents in 20th-century American painting, bringing art into closer touch with everyday life.
The original Eight included Robert Henri, Everett Shinn, John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies, Ernest Lawson, Maurice Prendergast, George Luks, and William J. Glackens. George Bellows later joined them.
While Robert Henri, the leader of the group, wanted art to be akin to journalism, other members took different directions. Prendergast, for instance, utilised decorative patterns of colour, while Davies painted dreamy, twilight scenes.
Yes, a few years after their only joint exhibition, the eight painters were absorbed into a larger group called the Ashcan School, which included Bellows, Edward Hopper, Glenn Coleman, Eugene Higgins, and Jerome Myers.
Yes, in 1908, 'The Eight' organised a group show at the Macbeth Gallery in New York as a direct reaction against slights by the National Academy of Design. The exhibition brought 'The Eight' to national attention, and while it received mixed reviews, it increased sales and exhibition opportunities for the painters.
