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April 18th, 2008

Modern 1939 Venus
AC 1956.66
Reginald Marsh, American, 1898-1954
Watercolor
Gift of Mr. Robert G. McIntyre, William Macbeth, Inc.


Marsh’s watercolor depicts the 1939 winner of the ‘Miss Modern Venus’ competition, an annual beauty contest held at Steeplechase Park in Coney Island, which often led to Hollywood screen tests. Here, the victor poses with her trophy while a man measures her ankles. National newspapers typically published the winners’ measurements: for example, The New York Times reported that the 1937 winner had a ‘9 [inch] ankle.’  A photograph of the real 1939 Modern Venus is included nearby.

This painting’s muddy palette is unusual for a watercolor, but typical for a work of the Ashcan school, an early twentieth-century American art movement which focused on gritty depictions of city life. Marsh frequently painted portraits of vivacious, voluptuous women; he also favored the dramatic outlines used throughout this scene, which reveal his roots as a cartoonist and illustrator. The painting’s complex composition, remarkable for a watercolor, required many previous sketches and a full-scale draft. Later, Marsh even executed a print of the subject. Glimpses of his graphite underdrawing are still visible here, particularly in the center of the sky and around the lines of the figures’ bodies.

Sara Sligar, Class of 2010