1960.132 George Grosz, In Front of the Hotel


GENERAL DESCRIPTION  
In his images of the bustling streets and diverse crowds of downtown Dallas, George Grosz relies on his facility with the depiction of social type, honed during his career as a satirist in Berlin. In Front of the Hotel describes the passage of pedestrians on Commerce Street as a compendium of local types: the smart woman, the boorish businessman, the urban cowboy, the tough guy, the hayseed, and, turned away from us, the African American newspaper seller. This was an unlikely array of local diversity to have been found together on a Dallas street in 1952. It was probably an imaginative collage of people Grosz observed over the course of his four-day visit.

Excerpt from
Heather MacDonald, Flower of the Prairie: George Grosz in Dallas (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 2012), 61.

NOTES
Created in 1952

Object File Reviewed

Heather MacDonald, DMA label copy, 2012:
This watercolor describes the passage of pedestrians on Commerce Street, in front of the Adolphus Hotel, as a collection of local "types:" the smart woman, the boorish businessman, the urban cowboy, the tough guy, the hayseed, and, turned away from us, the African American newspaper seller. This unlikely array was most likely an imaginative collage of people Grosz observed over the course of his four-day visit. 

In Front of the Hotel captures the spirit of Grosz's New York street scenes. Even though he is depicting a different set of types, one specific to Dallas, Grosz works in a familiar mode, deftly and efficiently characterizing each figure and combining them to suggest a possible narrative. 

Catalogue essays

Artist/designers

Cultures

Geography 
Depicted location: Dallas (Texas/United States): TGN: 7013503

Process/materials

Historical periods

Individuals

Subject terms

RELATED OBJECTS 

PROVENANCE 
From 1960: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of A. Harris and Company in memory of Leon A. Harris, Sr. [1]

[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

AUDIO ASSETS 
UMO: 13310072    The History and Culture of George Grosz's Dallas, Gallery talk by Carol Roark
UMO: 13310104   Reflections on George Grosz, Gallery talk with Marty Grosz, George Grosz's son
UMO: 13310145    Flower of the Prairie: George Grosz in Dallas, Gallery talk by Alan Govenar
UMO: 13316195   Frontier Fantasies Meet Frontier Realities: George Grosz in Dallas in 1952, Late Night Lecture by Barbara McCloskey
UMO: 13317549   Flower of the Prairie: George Grosz in Dallas, Gallery talk by Dr. Heather MacDonald

VIDEO ASSETS

IMAGE ASSETS

WEB RESOURCES 

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS

TEACHING IDEAS

RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1960.132

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General Description
 
In his images of the bustling streets and diverse crowds of downtown Dallas, George Grosz relies on his facility with the depiction of social type, honed during his career as a satirist in Berlin. In Front of the Hotel describes the passage of pedestrians on Commerce Street as a compendium of local types: the smart woman, the boorish businessman, the urban cowboy, the tough guy, the hayseed, and, turned away from us, the African American newspaper seller. This was an unlikely array of local diversity to have been found together on a Dallas street in 1952. It was probably an imaginative collage of people Grosz observed over the course of his four-day visit.

Excerpt from
Heather MacDonald, Flower of the Prairie: George Grosz in Dallas (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 2012), 61.

Fun Facts

Archival Resources

Web Resources
 
Notes
Created in 1952

Object File Reviewed

Heather MacDonald, DMA label copy, 2012:
This watercolor describes the passage of pedestrians on Commerce Street, in front of the Adolphus Hotel, as a collection of local "types:" the smart woman, the boorish businessman, the urban cowboy, the tough guy, the hayseed, and, turned away from us, the African American newspaper seller. This unlikely array was most likely an imaginative collage of people Grosz observed over the course of his four-day visit. 

In Front of the Hotel captures the spirit of Grosz's New York street scenes. Even though he is depicting a different set of types, one specific to Dallas, Grosz works in a familiar mode, deftly and efficiently characterizing each figure and combining them to suggest a possible narrative. 

Catalogue essays

Artist/designers

Cultures

Geography 
Depicted location: Dallas (Texas/United States): TGN: 7013503

Process/materials

Historical periods

Individuals

Subject terms

RELATED OBJECTS 

PROVENANCE 
From 1960: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of A. Harris and Company in memory of Leon A. Harris, Sr. [1]

[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

AUDIO ASSETS 
UMO: 13310072    The History and Culture of George Grosz's Dallas, Gallery talk by Carol Roark
UMO: 13310104   Reflections on George Grosz, Gallery talk with Marty Grosz, George Grosz's son
UMO: 13310145    Flower of the Prairie: George Grosz in Dallas, Gallery talk by Alan Govenar
UMO: 13316195   Frontier Fantasies Meet Frontier Realities: George Grosz in Dallas in 1952, Late Night Lecture by Barbara McCloskey
UMO: 13317549   Flower of the Prairie: George Grosz in Dallas, Gallery talk by Dr. Heather MacDonald

VIDEO ASSETS

rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1960.132
tags
#draft
#completed
%copyedited_Gail
women: AAT: 300025943
legs (animal or human components): AAT: 300310192
%Archived
men: AAT: 300025928
human figures: AAT: 300404114
*American Art
@Russell
hands (animal or human components): AAT: 300310193
hats (headgear): AAT: 300046106
shadows: AAT: 300056036
mouths (animal or human components): DMA
Grosz_George: ULAN: 500014558
13310072: UMO
13310104: UMO
13310145: UMO
13316195: UMO
13317549: UMO
shoes (footwear): AAT: 300046065
dresses (garments): AAT: 300046159
belts (bandas / cinturones / costume accessories): AAT: 300210002
boots (footwear): AAT: 300046057
smoking: AAT: 300380156
overalls (main garments): AAT: 300046178
eyes (animal or human components): AAT: 300400484
noses (animal or human components): DMA
watercolor (paint): AAT: 300015045
ears (human and animal components): DMA
tobacco (plants/genus): AAT: 300375501
neckties (ties-neckwear accessory): AAT: 300210068
gloves (handwear): AAT: 300148821
arms (animal or human components): AAT: 300310201
watercolors (paintings): AAT: 300078925
eyeglasses (equipment for personal vision use): AAT: 300266808
hotels: AAT: 300007166
source file
object_notes_2_d-0121.xml.nores