Two Girls

Despite the arrival of European modernist art movements to New York, including the abstract modes of Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, Raphael Soyer was committed to painting in a realist style.  Although his works of the 1930s often depicted the unemployed and homeless who had been displaced by the Depression, he did not see himself as a social critic.  Instead, he sought to capture the humanity of his subjects, focusing on the moods, gestures and humble appearances of his sitters.

          In Two Girls, the women—distinctly working class girls who were friends and frequently modeled for Soyer—seem to share a moment of introspection.  The painting’s muted colors and the understated setting highlight the girls’ mood and convey a sense of the troubled atmosphere of those years.