At the Dressmaker

American painter William Glackens was a founding member of the Ashcan School of American Art in the late 19the and early 20th centuries. His vivid colors, handling of light, and gestural brushstrokes marked his distinct style, which focused on everyday life in working class American environments. Traveling to Europe throughout much of his life, he functioned as a bridge between the United States and Western Europe, while fostering the development of American visual art. His legacy intertwines with that of his close childhood friend Albert C. Barnes, as Glackens was instrumental in Barnes’ access to and acquisition of European works of art that would become the basis of the Barnes Foundation Collection.

Philadelphia, PA, USA