Sketch of Figures 

William James Glackens made this sketch of figures using graphite on paper. Glackens was a member of the Ashcan School, also known as The Eight, a group of American artists working in the early twentieth century who broke from the academic tradition to depict scenes of everyday life, often among the working class. This sketch is interesting in that it shows figures from the back, which tells us the artist was not necessarily interested in the individual identities of his subjects. Instead, he seems to capture the essence of a fleeting moment in time as people walk by each other in the city. To understand Glackens' work better, we might look at period newspapers and magazines, along with the exhibition history of The Eight. It is through such institutional and cultural histories that we understand the meaning of art.