Bargain Hunters

Kenneth Hayes Miller, Bargain Hunters, 1940, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.65, © 1940, Kenneth Hayes Miller
Kenneth Hayes Miller, Bargain Hunters, 1940, oil on canvas, 30 7836 18 in. (78.491.8 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.65, © 1940, Kenneth Hayes Miller

Artwork Details

Title
Bargain Hunters
Date
1940
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
30 7836 18 in. (78.491.8 cm.)
Copyright
© 1940, Kenneth Hayes Miller
Credit Line
Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Occupation — domestic — shopping
  • African American
  • Figure group
  • Architecture Interior — commercial — store
Object Number
1986.6.65

Artwork Description

During the forty years Kenneth Hayes Miller taught at the Art Students League in New York City, he encouraged a generation of American painters, including Reginald Marsh, Paul Cadmus, and Sara Roby, to find inspiration in contemporary life. Yet he also counseled compositional balance and the value of classic form. For his own work, Miller looked to the shoppers, salesgirls, strollers, and streetwalkers he encountered around Fourteenth Street and Union Square. In Bargain Hunters, he captured the crush of femininity on sale day. Although the women seem frozen in space, their eyes sparkle with the excitement of bargain hunting.


Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, 2014

Works by this artist (5 items)

Frederick Brown, Junior Wells, 1989, oil on linen, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by William Cost Johnson, George W. Story, Robert J. Oliver and Mrs. Barwig-Wagner, 1990.31
Junior Wells
Date1989
oil on linen
Not on view
Frederick Brown, Green Window, 1970, oil, silica, and glue on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Gerald L. Pearson, 1995.22.2, © 1970, Frederick J. Brown
Green Window
Date1970
oil, silica, and glue on canvas
Not on view
Frederick Brown, John Henry, 1979, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Gerald L. Pearson, 1995.22.1, © 1979, Frederick J. Brown
John Henry
Date1979
oil on canvas
Not on view
Frederick Brown, Stagger Lee, 1983, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1991.40, © 1983, Frederick J. Brown
Stagger Lee
Date1983
oil on canvas
Not on view

Exhibitions

Media - 1986.6.100 - SAAM-1986.6.100_2 - 135134
Modern American Realism: Highlights from the Sara Roby Foundation Collection
This exhibition presents some of the most treasured paintings and sculpture from SAAM’s permanent collection, including artworks by Will Barnet, Isabel Bishop, Paul Cadmus, Edward Hopper, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jacob Lawrence, George Tooker, among others.