Dox Thrash

"Dox Thrash came of age as an artist in the 1920s and 1930s, a time when art in the United States began to offer accurate reflections of everyday life. Known as "Regionalism," "Social Realism," or simply the "American Scene," this widespread movement encouraged artists to focus their attention on the work around them. Throughout his career Thrash drew on personal experience for the striking imagery in his work, with scenes ranging from childhood memories of the rural South to hard times in the urban centers of the North, patriotic defense work during wartime, and poetic portraits of his community and its residents." "The four essays in this volume open windows on different aspects of the artist's life, offering a historical overview on his training and career as a printmaker; an examination of the inner workings of the Fine Print Workshop in Philadelphia, the only WPA workshop devoted entirely to the production of limited-edition prints; a re-creation of the Pyramid Club, Philadelphia's premier African American cultural and social institution in the 1940s and 1950s; and an investigation of Thrash's use of African American themes in his work."--Jacket.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.