Between the Wars

Between the Wars is an exhibition of American prints and photographs made during the decades following the beginning of World War I and preceding the armistice of the second World War in 1944. This extraordinarily productive time for American printmakers coincided first with a boom of optimism and industrial growth, and then with a devastating decade of economic depression. An exceptional visual record of this period was left behind in the etchings, lithographs, woodcuts, screenprints and photographs of two generations of artists. On the one hand, they reveal the terror of war abroad, the hardships of urban poverty, and the heat and overcrowding of tenements, while on the other they boast of the creation of great bridges and skyscrapers, the strength and dignity of the worker, and the excitement of city life. The works shown in these two galleries represent highlights of a collection formed with passion and curiosity, a sense of beauty and importance of American art during the years between the wars, and a devotion to the black and white image. The selection is arranged in groups of objects representing the themes of war, city life, entertainment, work, and urban architecture. It begins, chronologically, with Lewis Hine's 1912 photograph of a tenement interior, and with George Bellow's and John Sloan's contrasting veiws of New York on a sultry summer night in 1916. However, the emotional range of the show is best represented by Bellow's tiny 1919 Christmas card, Hail to Peace!, and by Jack Levine's chilling depiction of a Nazi collector.