Jun 17 at 12:00 PM - Sale 2709 -

Sale 2709 - Lot 54

Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500
SAMUEL EHRHART (1862 - 1937)
Conversation on the street.

Pen and ink on board, circa 1910. 712x606 mm; 28x23⅝ inches. Signed in lower right image.

Publication
Illustration most likely published in Puck magazine.
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Additional Details

This illustration by Samuel Ehrhart likely serves as a commentary on the automobile's significance in shaping women's identities in the early 20th century. As women campaigned for suffrage and greater participation in public and political life, the car emerged as a symbol of liberation from social and geographic constraints. Female drivers challenged the belief that women belonged solely in the domestic sphere. Early automotive imagery often portrayed women in the style of the Gibson Girl or the New Woman: active, independent, and spirited, presenting driving as a pursuit for the modern, adventurous woman.

Ehrhart's cartoons and illustrations appeared frequently in the pages of Puck over the years 1888 to 1913. His work also appeared in Harper's Monthly, Judge and other publications of the early 20th century.

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