Bernard Goldberg Fine Arts

Born in 1870 in Philadelphia, William Glackens began his career in art as a commercial illustrator, often working alongside his contemporaries George Luks, John Sloan and Everett Shinn. These artists subsequently studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts along with Robert Henri, a charismatic painter and teacher who promoted a style of painting that concentrated on the grittier aspects of urban life. Employing a palette of dark colors and a technique consisting of swift, muscular strokes, Henri and his friends attempted to make their art reflect the spontaneity of real life.

Prior to this exhibition, in 1904, Glackens married Edith Dimock, a fellow artist who shared the aesthetic and social concerns of The Eight. Despite the fortunate financial situation provided by their marriage, he continued working as an illustrator, thriving on the diversity of executing works in various media and aimed at different objectives. The years between 1899 and 1906 mark Glackens’ most prolific phase as an illustrator, during which he produced many superb works filled with vigor and a sense of immediacy. It was not until 1919 that he finally gave up illustration, at Henri’s encouragement, and devoted himself entirely to painting.

Published in The Saturday Evening Post in 1902, this drawing served as an illustration for one of several short tales compiling the story “The Beggars’ Club.” Written by I.K. Friedman, the pretext of the collection centers on a club of panhandlers who gather to drink and compare outrageous escapades of roguery. A humorous account of deception written in early twentieth-century slang, the story that this drawing accompanies describes the misadventures of the twin beggars, Jerry and Tom, and a fancy bonnet. Entrusted by the milliner to deliver an urgent package to her client, the twins decide instead to take the extravagant hat to their wealthy sister Mary. Hoping to receive a hot meal and tea in gratitude, the scoundrels offer the hat as a gift to their not-so-innocent sister but then take it with them when they leave, intending to trick the milliner and the client into extra delivery payments.

Depicting the genteel Mary dressed in a sophisticated gown in contrast to the disheveled twins, this drawing demonstrates Glackens’ consummate skill in capturing the atmosphere and eccentric personalities of fictional stories. Surrounded by the lavish yet tasteful details of her sitting room, like the elegant rug on the floor and the vase on the piano, Mary clasps her hands in delight at the beautiful new bonnet that her brothers present to her. At the same time, the men appear pleased with their duplicity, expressing smugness on their countenances. The caption, which accompanied the picture in the original publication, read “An’ Mary Claps Her Hands an’ She Screams ‘It’s a Dream!’” Delineating the scene with bold strokes of charcoal, the Glackens endowed the figures with depth and shadows through his skillful use of ink wash and white color highlights. This impressive range of tonalities as well as the imaginative portrayals of the characters does much to bring this story to life, in the end evidencing the reasons why William Glackens was considered to be one of the greatest illustrators of his generation.