Carnival Scene, circa 1918, 18 x 22 in. Framed by Gill & Lagodich for the Mint Museum. Period late 19th-century Alpine frame, ebonized toned gesso on wood, molding width 4-1/4 in. “Like other artists of the Ashcan School George Luks made a name for himself by creating paintings of the people and neighborhoods of lower Manhattan. Luks was, perhaps, the member of the group whose paintings of this subject matter were the most coarse and unflinching. He was known to have been lively and cantankerous, a drinker and a carouser who found the hardscrabble lives of immigrants and loners more stimulating than those of the upper classes. In 1918 Luks painted Blue Devils on Fifth Avenue, a scene of French veterans on parade in New York (now owned by the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.), for an exhibition of paintings in support of Allied efforts in World War 1. The Mint Museum’s Carnival Scene, which includes figures clad in similar blue military garb as well as French flags, is likely a related work.” —Mint Museum label. Painting Gift of the Mint Museum Auxiliary. Period frame acquired in 2018 with funds generously donated by Betsy and Alfred Brand.