Girl in Slacks

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Isabel Bishop was a leading painter and printmaker in New York City during the early and mid-twentieth century. Along with Reginald Marsh and Raphael and Moses Soyer, Bishop was dedicated to Depression Era, social-realist themes when Abstract Expressionism was the all-prevalent style.

During the 1920s and 1930s, Bishop’s work was characterized by the depiction of the urban working class and destitute men and women around Union Square, New York. Later in her life, she became enamored with the hustle and bustle of college students around New York University, which was a return to the very street scenes of her earlier days. Her art displays her perceptive observation of normal people in everyday settings.

When asked about her work, Bishop was quoted in a 1978 statement as saying, "I hope my work is recognizable as being by a woman, though I certainly would never deliberately make it feminine in any way, in subject or treatment. But if I speak in a voice which is my own, it's bound to be the voice of a woman."