American Art and the Jazz Age Quiz

Which period is commonly referred to as the "Jazz Age" in American history?

• The period between the end of World War I in 1918 and the stock market crash of October 1929

• The period during the American Civil War

• The period after World War II

• The period of the Great Depression in the 1930s

What was a significant characteristic of the "Jazz Age" in the United States?

• Decline in technological innovation

• Exuberant period of prosperity and hope

• Decrease in car and home ownership

• Lack of new roles for women

Which of the following best describes the focus of the Ashcan School artists?

• Abstract experiments in art

• Representations of everyday lives of working-class people and the grittier side of life in poor neighborhoods

• Painting only landscapes and still lifes

• Creating art in the style of the Renaissance

Who was the unofficial leader of the Ashcan School?

• Diego Velázquez

• Édouard Manet

• Robert Henri

• John Sloan

Why did Ashcan School artists often exhibit their work in small, independent art galleries in New York?

• They preferred rural audiences

• They were frustrated by rejection from juries at more conservative artistic venues

• They wanted to avoid European influence

• They only painted for private collectors

How did the National Academy of Design influence American art at the turn of the twentieth century?

• It encouraged modernist experimentation

• It rewarded narrative paintings and landscapes done in Impressionist styles

• It tended to reward narrative paintings and landscapes done in Impressionist styles and discouraged taking risks with subject matter or style

• It promoted only abstract art

What was a major change in American art after World War I?

• Return to traditional art-making only

• America became a dynamic site of modernist experimentation in the arts

• Complete rejection of all European influences

• Focus solely on sculpture

What does Kenyon Cox's painting "Tradition, 1916" represent in the context of American art?

• Abstract experiments in art

• Traditional art-making in a Renaissance revival style

• Modernist sculpture

• Impressionist landscapes

Which group of artists was featured in a 1908 show at the Macbeth Gallery in Manhattan and later became known as the "Ashcan School"?

• The Eight

• The Impressionists

• The Fauves

• The Cubists

What was a common subject matter for the Ashcan School artists?

• Immigrant neighborhoods and working-class entertainment

• Landscapes and rural scenes

• Abstract geometric shapes

• Mythological themes