The Annotated Mona Lisa: Pages 154 - 155

Question 1

Ashcan School: Thrasy Tales

Answer 1

• dismissed ‘raw’ scenes of real people sopping and carousing as fit only for the ash can

Question 2

Sloan: Street Life

Answer 2

• John Sloan (1871-1951)
• work didn’t sell until he was past 40
• convinced that art should be down-to-earth, rooted in daily life

Question 3

Bellows: Boxing

Answer 3

• George Bellows (1882-1925)

- gave up career as a professional baseball player to be a painter

Question 4

Art As Activism: American Scene and Social Realism

Answer 4

• the American Scene School, or Regionalism, enshrined Midwest values as the essence of American character

Question 5

Benton: American Heroes

Answer 5

• Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975)
• leader of the American Scene
• believed hometown reality should inspire art