Everett Shinn
Born November 6, 1876; died January 2, 1953;Everett Shinn (American, 1876-1953)
Multi-talented Everett Shinn, the youngest and perhaps the most cosmopolitan member of The Eight (whose 1908 exhibition shook the foundations of American art), was born in Woodstown, New Jersey, in 1876. A realist who loved the theatrical world and its glitter, drew many of his subjects from the stage.
During his colorful life, Shinn was an industrial designer, reporter-artist, illustrator, muralist, cartoonist, amateur acrobat, professional playwright and producer, and motion-picture art director. Shinn studied mechanical drawing and shop training from 1890 to 1893 at Spring Garden Institute in Philadelphia. He then worked as a designer for a gas-fixtures company.
Shinn became caught up in the era of sensational journalism in 1893, as an artist-reporter for the Philadelphia Press. His job was to rush to scenes of news events and quickly sketch the incidents for the paper’s next edition. He developed invaluable skill in capturing scenes rapidly and accurately, with a dramatic flair. During this period, he also studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
One evening a week, Shinn and three of his fellow artist-reporters, William Glackens, George Luks and John Sloan, met at the studio of Robert Henri, the inspirational force behind this rebellious group of artists who eventually became known as The Eight. Henri, a born teacher, expounded his beliefs that anything could be the subject of a painting, stating that "the beauty of a work of art is in the work itself".
The young members of this core group of realists, later called The Ashcan School, developed a new urban realism contrary to the beliefs of the academicians. They painted slum residents, workers, the everyday life of ordinary people—subjects viewed as unworthy by other artists. Black was used lavishly in their work and they were nicknamed "the Revolutionary Black Gang."
A fun-loving and ingenious group, they wrote and staged their own theatricals in Henri’s studio. Shinn was featured in a parody of George du Maurier’s Trilby, a best-selling novel. Moving to New York in 1897, Shinn continued as an illustrator for the New York World newspaper, but dreamed of having a center-spread illustration published in Harper’s Weekly. His persistence gained him an interview with the editor, who wanted a color drawing of the Metropolitan Opera House in a snowstorm. After telling the editor that he had one at his studio, Shinn rushed out, purchased pastels, and by morning had finished A Winter’s Night on Broadway (1899, location unknown). Harper’s featured it in the center spread.
Many commissions followed, including McClure’s and Scribner’s publications. In addition to illustrating 28 books and 94 magazine stories, Shinn also painted murals in the City Hall at Trenton, and panels for the Stuyvesant Theater in New York City.
After Shinn’s exposure to the theatrical world in Paris in 1901, his work was more inclined toward the glamour of the stage. Important are his London Hippodrome (1902, location unknown) and Theater Box (1906, location unknown). Influenced by Edgar Degas, Honoré Daumier and Jean-Louis Forain, Shinn used predominately pastels in his pictures of slums and the lower classes, whereas theater scenes are often oils.
In February 1908, The Eight’s landmark exhibition was held at the Macbeth Gallery in New York City. Shinn, Glackens, Luks, Sloan and Henri were joined by Maurice Prendergast, Ernest Lawson and Arthur B. Davies in the popular show that made history in its revolt against current conventional attitudes. Police had to control the crowds, and the critics struck out with ire.
Shinn savored life to the hilt until his death in 1953 in New York City. In later life he recalled, "I was often accused of being a social snob. Not at all—it’s just that the uptown life with all its glitter was more good looking…"
[Taken from the internet web site of Comenos Fine Arts, Boston, www.comensofinearts.com, 2/7/2000 --jag]
