The “Ten Cents a Dance” title points to the world of the taxi-dance hall, where patrons bought individual dances, often for ten cents a song. American artist Reginald Marsh was especially drawn to New York’s crowded public entertainment scene in the 1930s during the Depression, and here he turns a commercial leisure space into a study of gender, labor, class, and performance. A horizontal nightclub scene opens like a stage. In the foreground, a line of women gathers along a bar or railing, their bodies angled toward one another in casual conversation and practiced display. They wear satin evening dresses in pale and vivid tones, hugging close to the body, with bare shoulders, fitted waists, and bright accessories. Their skin tones vary subtly within Marsh’s warm, theatrical palette. Hair is waved, curled, or pinned into glossy 1930s styles. One woman leans forward for maximum attention to her cleavage as others tilt their heads, glance sideways, or fix their attention on someone just beyond the picture space. Behind them, the room compresses into a dense social crush of figures, lights, and architectural fragments, making the atmosphere feel humid, noisy, and alert. These women are glamorous, but the painting is not a simple celebration. Their poise suggests professionalism more than pleasure. They are working, waiting, scanning, and negotiating. Marsh, born in Paris in 1898 to American artist parents and raised in the United States, built his career around the spectacle of modern urban life, often focusing on bodies in motion and crowds under pressure. In this painting, desire and exhaustion sit close together. The women’s elegance offers allure, yet the compressed setting hints at their economic precarity and the constant demand to be seen. The result is both seductive and unsettling for a portrait not of one heroine, but of a system in which femininity itself becomes part of the transaction.

“Ten Cents a Dance” by Reginald Marsh (American) - Tempera on composition board / 1933 - Whitney Museum of American Art (New York) #WomenInArt #ReginaldMarsh #Marsh #WhitneyMuseum #AmericanArt #SocialRealism #DanceHall #art #arttext #WomenAtWork #AmericanArtist #BlueskyArt #TheWhitney #1930sArt

Why #TheWhitney needs a weapons manufacturer on their board:

#NYC #museums #hottake (1/12)

More highlights from the
Sixties Surreal show
at #TheWhitney

#nyc #art #museums

A vivid, abstract painting blending portraiture and symbolism. On the right, a stylized woman’s face in shades of orange, black, and white stares forward with bold, geometric lines framing her. To the left, a reclining red-and-blue female figure lies atop rhythmic, wave-like patterns. A large yellow sun and deep blue sky evoke cosmic or spiritual dimensions, while the foreground features organic, multicolored shapes and patterns suggesting earth and life cycles.

A stark industrial painting depicting towering smokestacks and massive curved steel pipes set against a hazy grey sky. Taut cables crisscross the scene, emphasizing structure and tension. The muted color palette and simplified geometry give the composition a surreal, almost monolithic presence, evoking the power and grime of early 20th-century American industry.

A whimsical, surreal portrait of a bride with a glittering cat’s head, standing in a field of vibrant poppies. She wears a detailed, off-white gown with red ribbons and holds a bouquet of pink flowers. Surrounding her is a bright turquoise sky filled with colorful, patterned fish. At her feet lies a large brown rodent-like animal on a leash, further enhancing the dreamlike, folk-art quality of the image.

I spent the morning at Whitney Museum of American Art and was taken to another dimension. There's so much to love but these stood out to me:
Linda Lomahaftewa – Untitled (Woman's Faces)
Elsie Driggs – Pittsburgh
Joan Brown – The Bride
#artmuseum
#paintings
#thewhitney

I’m expensive, darling.
📸 boudoirinseattle on IG

#boudoir #lingerie #model #photography #honeybirdette #lace #thewhitney #natural #brunette #fineart #nsfw #implied #spicybsky #ofmodel #onlyfans #fansly

A stylized portrait depicts a slender, short-haired mature woman in a form-fitting brown long-sleeved top and narrow olive-green skirt, standing in a poised pose against a pale pink background. Her expression is serious and contemplative, her gaze directed slightly upward and to our left. Her skin tone is pale, and her features are subtly defined. The woman's posture is elegant yet slightly relaxed; one hand rests on her hip, while the other hangs loosely by her side. Her body is subtly angled, suggesting a gentle turn. American artist John Currin‘s work draws on a variety of sources—from Northern Renaissance and early Mannerist paintings to contemporary fashion magazines—to create deceptively naturalistic portraits. Endowed with seemingly recognizable faces and bodies that are often elongated or distorted, these composite figures could live nowhere but in his art. “The people I paint don’t exist. The only thing that is real is the painting. It’s not like a photograph where there’s another reality that existed in a certain moment in time in the past.” — John Currin Among Currin‘s earliest works are portraits of anonymous aging females, exemplified by the figure depicted in “Skinny Woman.” With a classic pose reminiscent of a fashion model, the artist elevates this association by giving the woman an aged, thin body plus silvery gray hair. “Skinny Woman” engages with themes of feminine beauty, idealization, and the sometimes unrealistic standards propagated by society. The elongated proportions in the painting are reminiscent of Mannerist art and highlight the distortion of body image prevalent in media and fashion. Currin masterfully blends technical skill with provocative subject matter, generating discussions on the male gaze, objectification, and societal pressures faced by women regarding their physical appearance.

“Skinny Woman” by John Currin (American) - Oil on linen / 1992 - Whitney Museum of American Art (New York) #WomenInArt #ArtText #art #artwork #PortraitofaWoman #skinny #JohnCurrin #Currin #AmericanArt #TheWhitney #womensart #WhitneyMuseumofAmericanArt #ContemporaryArt #ContemporaryRealism #bskyart

Trinidadian-American actor and dancer ... and artist ... Geoffrey Holder painted a striking portrait of his spouse, American actress and choreographer, and dancer Carmen de Lavallade in an elegant dark dress, seated in an soft-orange lounge chair against a vibrant orange background exuding a sense of quiet strength. She is seated in a large, stylized armchair or sofa, rendered in warm oranges and yellows, almost glowing against the backdrop. Her black dress drapes loosely around her with the texture of the dress suggested through the Holder's brushstrokes, giving it a slightly rough appearance. Her posture is relaxed yet regal; she is sitting upright but her arms are resting comfortably on the chair's arms, suggesting a sense of ease and confidence. De Lavallade's dark hair is pulled back, framing her face, which is expressionless, yet conveys intensity as she looks directly at us. She wears small earrings, subtly adding to her elegance. The background is a dynamic blend of fiery oranges and hints of darker tones, evocative of a warm smoky atmosphere. The background's texture is rough and expressive, almost abstract in contrast to the figure. There's a powerful dramatic feel that arises from Holder's bold use of color and form executed with thick impasto brushstrokes, adding to its expressive nature. In 2017, more than six decades of professional experience in the arts, de Lavallade received the Kennedy Center Honors award for lifetime achievement and contributions to American culture. Holder was more than just a popular actor famous for his Trinidadian basso and hearty laugh (“Mah-velous! Ha ha ha ha!”). He also was the Tony-winning stage director and costume designer of Broadway’s hit "The Wiz" in 1975. Even before that, Holder’s talent as a painter was evident when he sold two of his paintings at the age of 15. The inspirational couple was featured in the 2005 film "Carmen and Geoffrey," covering their 60-year partnership and artistic legacy.

Portrait of Camen de Lavallade by Geoffrey Holder (Trinidadian) - Oil on canvas / 1976 - Whitney Museum of American Art (New York) #WomenInArt #OilPainting #art #PortraitofaWoman #womensart #GeoffreyHolder #Holder #Dancer #beauty #CamendeLavallade #Trinidadian #TheWhitney #WhitneyMuseumofAmericanArt

The Whitney Museum of American Art

#art #thewhitney

If the Whitney Feels Different, It’s Probably Because of Adrienne Edwards Adrienne Edwards is breaking boundaries between performance and exhibition-making, and helping the Whitney Museum come to life while she's at it.

If the Whitney Feels Different, It’s Probably Because of Adrienne Edwards #TheWhitneyMuseum #TheWhitney #AdrienneEdwards #CulturedMag #CulturedMagazine

www.culturedmag.com/article/2025...

Monday night at the Whitney…

#thewhitney #alvinailey #nyc

Flick of #beaufortdelaney painting called Charlie Parker yardbird from 1958. Indescribable really..like firework burst of melonish pink bright w some shade without a firework center on a backdrop of blue. Simple silver frame on a red wall.

She wore yellllow! Lots a yellow. A beautiful lady with lighter brown skin and short brown hair wearing a yellow dress and a yellow and blue dressy jacket, hands clasped in front with a brushy backdrop of the same yellow with other colors below/behind. Wood frame on red wall. Maaaahvelous dahling.

#BeaufortDelaney at #thewhitney #edgesofailey #art #photofeed

@whitneymuseum Here’s to 2025

Roy Lichtenstein, Sunrise, 1965. Offset lithograph. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein, all rights reserved

#roylichtenstein
#lichtenstein
#whitneymuseum
#whitneymuseumofamericanart
#thewhitney

"Edges of Ailey" at the Whitney Museum, NYC
#dance #alvinailey #thewhitney #musings #art #culture #judithjameson #nyc #exhibition

From April 1 to May 11, 1929, Edward Hopper and his wife, Josephine Nivison Hopper, visited Charleston, South Carolina. During their trip to the surrounding countryside, the Hoppers encountered a woman who stood in front of her cabin but retreated indoors when her husband came home. Many years later, Hopper revisited this chance meeting in South Carolina Morning, the only painting in his oeuvre that depicts an African American woman. Here, she stands poised on the steps of a building surrounded by an austere slab of sidewalk, which is the only transitional element between the structure and a vast plain of sea grass that extends to the horizon.

South Carolina Morning by Edward Hopper (American) - Oil on canvas / 1955 - Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY) #womeninart #painting #fineart #hopper #art #edwardhopper #artwork #bskyart #bsky.art #artoftheday #whitneymuseumofamericanart #whitneymuseum #thewhitney #americanart

A woman leans back against the railing of a wood deck of a building with a red roof. She is barefoot with a white scarf blowing in the wind from atop her head. The woman’s is wearing a low-cut shortsleeved pink shirt and knee-length straight yellow skirt. A metal bucket hangs from the deck near the steps while, at the opposite end of the deck in the background, a man in teal shirt and blue shorts with small red hat looks at the scenic river landscape including a white church (with red roof) in the distance.

Day Clean by Eldzier Cortor (American) - Oil on linen / c. 1945 - Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY) #womenart #americanartist #eldziercortor #whitneymuseum #art #painting #newyorkart #oilpainting #thewhitney #nyc #americanart

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The Whitney is now free for 25 and under.

#art
#freethearts
#TheWhitney

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#EdwardHopper -- a favorite of mine, although I've never seen one of his works live. Apparently #TheWhitney in #NYC has the largest collection. (I plan to visit)

#Automat, below, it reminds me of being alone, all on my own, in the city (#Boston), and loving every moment of it. Oh, to be #22again