Description
New York City provided Reginald Marsh with ready subjects for his work as an artist and freelance illustrator. A draftsman at heart, he first used watercolor in the 1920s and returned to it in 1939, stating that “watercolors give clarity and allow for better drawing.” In this example, he drew with black crayon and graphite, and then applied the watercolor with thin, transparent washes of black and gray, carefully allowing them to pool and dry in untidy clouds that emphasize the dirty, grimy realism of his landscape.
Accession Number
52930
Medium
Brush and black and gray wash, with watercolor, over black crayon and graphite on off-white wove paper
Dimensions
57.8 × 78.7 cm (22 13/16 × 31 in.)
Classification
watercolor
Credit Line
Olivia Shaler Swan Memorial Collection
Background & Context
Background Story
Reginald Marshs Two Experts, Tattoo from 1944 is a brush and wash drawing with watercolor over black crayon and graphite that depicts two figures examining a tattoo, a subject that exemplifies the American Social Realist painters lifelong fascination with the popular culture of New York City and the working-class amusements that provided him with the material for his most celebrated work. Marsh, who spent decades documenting the crowds at Coney Island, the burlesque houses of Times Square, and the sideshows of the Bowery, brought to these subjects a combination of old-master draftsmanship and contemporary social observation that distinguishes his work from the more politically engaged Social Realism of his contemporaries. The tattoo, with its associations of working-class culture, military service, and bodily decoration, provided Marsh with a subject that combined his interest in the human figure with his fascination with popular culture and the visual environment of the city. The year 1944, during World War II, gives the tattoo an additional layer of significance as a marker of military service and a form of popular art that was particularly associated with sailors and soldiers. The brush and wash medium with watercolor allows Marsh to combine the tonal modeling of his academic training with the chromatic richness of his popular subjects, creating a surface that is simultaneously a finished work of art and a document of popular culture.
Cultural Impact
Marshs drawings and watercolors of New York City popular culture are significant contributions to the Social Realist tradition in American art, and Two Experts, Tattoo demonstrates the combination of old-master draftsmanship and contemporary social observation that makes his work significant. His drawings influenced the development of urban realist drawing and the broader tradition of art that addresses popular culture.
Why It Matters
A 1944 brush and wash drawing with watercolor by Marsh depicting two figures examining a tattoo, combining old-master draftsmanship with popular culture observation during wartime when tattoos signified military service and working-class identity.
