In the Subway (1921): Art, History and Details

In the Subway (1921) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is George Bellows (American, 1882–1925).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Public transportation offered one of the various forms of entertainment to be had in the city: people watching. Here, George Bellows captured an amorous couple in a jolly mood who smile across the aisle at other travelers on a night out. The first subway line in New York City, from City Hall in lower Manhattan to Harlem, opened in 1904. By 1920, there were three lines covering the city’s outer boroughs and both sides of Manhattan. For five cents each, couples could go almost anywhere in the city for a night out on the town.

Object facts

• Title: In the Subway
• Date: 1921
• Creator attribution: George Bellows (American, 1882–1925)
• Culture: America
• Type: Print
• Technique: lithograph
• Dimensions: Platemark: 21.4 x 17.8 cm (8 7/16 x 7 in.); Sheet: 24.7 x 20.4 cm (9 3/4 x 8 1/16 in.)
• Collection: PR - Lithograph
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1937.502

A detail from the museum

The somewhat old-fashioned clothing of this couple by 1920s New York standards suggests that they may be recent immigrants to the city from Europe.

Collection credit

Gift of Leonard C. Hanna Jr.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.