Vaudeville: Two Men

Charles Demuth is best known for his dynamic paintings of fire engines and grain elevators done in a Precisionist style similar to that of Charles Sheeler (whose work is on view elsewhere in this gallery). However, he also loved New York and adopted the city's nightlife as one of his subjects. In Vaudeville: Two Men he used vivid colors and a sensuous, fluid style to depict a painted backdrop and suggest the movement of two dancers from a variety show. A deft stroke of the artist's pencil gives the dancer on the left a witty wink.