11/26/2024
Like many astute observers of New York City life, Adolf Dehn was a transplant from the midwest. Dehn was born in Minnesota to a feminist, socialist mother and an atheist, anarchist father. He studied at the Minnesota Art Institute and then moved to New York City to study at the Art Students League. After spending time in jail as a conscientious objector during WWI, he traveled around Europe, perfecting his print-making, creating a name for himself back in New York as an expert lithographer and illustrator of social scenes and lighthearted public life.
In 1930, after the market crash, he returned to New York City. It was during this period that he drew the present sheet, intended for Vanity Fair. Although this scene is nearly 100 years old, it is instantly recognizable to anyone traveling the subway system today. An older woman in a fine coat, who knows very well that dogs are not allowed on the subway, glares passive aggressively at the delinquent, a well-dressed man clinging to his two pomeranians and desperate to avoid eye-contact. Meanwhile, the fur trimmed woman seated to the right pretends to read the advertisement above, which allows her to follow the scene in her periphery. In the center of it all is the newsprint headline, “New Masses” making its own judgment on the crowds of recently demoted wealthy now taking the train.
Thomas French Fine Art represents the estate of Adolf Dehn. To read more about his life and view other available works, visit www.adolfdehnart.com
Adolf Dehn (American, 1895-1968)
Getting Ready for the Revolution - Learning How to Ride in the Subway, c. 1932
Litho crayons on illustrator’s board
Signed: Adolf Dehn (VED) lower right corner (signed by Virginia Dehn, the artist’s widow)
14 1/4 x 11 9/16 inches
$3,500
