Glackens, William James (1870-1938), was an American painter and illustrator. His illustrations are sympathetic commentaries on life in city streets and crowded tenements. As a painter, Glackens preferred subjects reflecting fashionable life in cafes and parks. Glackens’ style of painting shows the influence of the French impressionists. His early works are in the dark manner of Édouard Manet. The paintings of his most productive years reflect the lighter colors of Pierre Auguste Renoir.
Glackens was born in Philadelphia, and studied art there and in Paris. Early in his career, he worked as an illustrator for newspapers, magazines, and books. His most memorable early work is a series of drawings he produced as an artist-war correspondent in Cuba during the Spanish-American War in 1898. Glackens became one of the original members of a group of realistic artists called The Eight (later the Ashcan School).
