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The Polka Dot Dress

Object Details

Luce Center Label
George Luks depicted a working-class woman looking regal in her polka-dot dress, white gloves, and flowered hat. She wears her finery proudly as if to defy anyone who might look down on her. Luks felt at home in the slums of New York and often commented on the honesty and humility of workers. His portraits and genre scenes insisted on the humanity of people on the margins of society. As one Harper’s Weekly critic wrote, “. . . fearless good nature and a genuine tenderness . . . help make George Luks’ paintings about as vital an art as one can imagine.” (O’Toole, George Luks: An American Artist, 1987)
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Artist
George Luks, born Williamsport, PA 1866-died New York City 1933
Date
1927
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Howard Weingrow
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
58 x 37 in. (147.4 x 94.0 cm)
Type
Painting

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