Glow of the City (detail), 1929, Martin Lewis, drypoint on ivory laid paper. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Purchased with funds from Russel I. and Hannah S. Kully. © Estate of Martin Lewis Glow of the City (detail), 1929, Martin Lewis, drypoint on ivory laid paper. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Purchased with funds from Russel I. and Hannah S. Kully. © Estate of Martin Lewis

Early twentieth-century American artists sought to provide diverse perspectives on the shifting world around them. With works drawn from local museums and a private collection, True Grit provides a survey of early twentieth-century printmaking together with a complementary selection of photographs from the Getty’s permanent collection. Compelling depictions convey a broad view of American culture that includes dance halls and boxing rings, skyscrapers and subways, parks, and tenement apartments. Using innovative techniques, these American artists captured the gritty world around them and came to terms with modern life.

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Publication

True Grit: American Prints from 1900 to 1950

Stephanie Schrader, James Glisson, and Alexander Nemerov


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Exhibition Resources

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Photography Checklist
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Podcast

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True Grit – The American City in Early 20th-Century Prints

Curators Stephanie Schrader and James Glisson explore how American printmakers expressed modern life in the city in black and white.


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