The Waitress

Isaac Soyer, The Waitress, ca. 1934-1939, pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Evander Childs High School, Bronx, New York through the General Services Administration, 1975.83.111
Isaac Soyer, The Waitress, ca. 1934-1939, pencil on paper, sheet: 18 3⁄4 x 17 in. (47.5 x 43.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Evander Childs High School, Bronx, New York through the General Services Administration, 1975.83.111

Artwork Details

Title
The Waitress
Artist
Date
ca. 1934-1939
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 18 3⁄4 x 17 in. (47.5 x 43.1 cm)
Credit Line
Transfer from the Evander Childs High School, Bronx, New York through the General Services Administration
Mediums
Mediums Description
pencil on paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture Interior — commercial — restaurant
  • Occupation — service — waiter
  • Figure group
Object Number
1975.83.111
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1975.83.111

Artwork Description

“The artist discovers beauty and meaning in whatever environment he is cast by chance,” Soyer wrote in 1947. For him, the place was New York City, where he drew scenes of everyday life. In The Waitress, Soyer captures a waitress cleaning the table of a man dining alone. Around them customers bustle and converse and dishes clank, but the artist isolates the two figures from their surroundings. They are engrossed in private thoughts despite their physical proximity.

Graphic Masters II: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2009

Works by this artist (744 items)

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William Zorach, Mother and Child (Dike and Eirene), 1918, plaster, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar, 1968.154.171
Mother and Child (Dike and Eirene)
Artist
Date1918
plaster
On view
William Zorach, Undaunted (Torso), 1963, cast plaster, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar, 1971.449.17
Undaunted (Torso)
Artist
Date1963
cast plaster
On view
William Zorach, Torso, 1932, granite, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.85
Torso
Artist
Date1932
granite
On view
William Zorach, Small Head, ca. 1958-1962, carved stone, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar, 1968.154.9
Small Head
Artist
Dateca. 1958-1962
carved stone
On view

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"Prophet" Royal Robertson, Space Gun Drawing, n.d., pencil, marker, paint on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1998.84.30
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Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Rorschach drawing), n.d., drawing, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, 1991.155.408
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