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
Copied 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