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 3417 in. (47.543.1 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 3417 in. (47.543.1 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
  • Figure group
  • Occupation — service — waiter
  • Architecture Interior — commercial — restaurant
Object Number
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 (1036 items)

William H. Johnson, Young Pastry Cook, ca. 1928-1930, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.693
Young Pastry Cook
Dateca. 1928-1930
oil on canvas
On view
William H. Johnson, Portrait of a Man, ca. 1935-1938, oil on burlap, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.814
Portrait of a Man
Dateca. 1935-1938
oil on burlap
On view
William H. Johnson, Breakdown with Flat Tire, ca. 1940-1941, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.587
Breakdown with Flat Tire
Dateca. 1940-1941
oil on plywood
On view
William H. Johnson, For India and China, ca. 1944-1945, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.662
For India and China
Dateca. 1944-1945
oil on paperboard
On view

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Cargo Cults (Java Bunny)
Date2016
pigment print
Not on view
Hurricane Redux
Date2018
linocut assemblage mounted on Masonite panels
Not on view