Henri's disciples were known collectively as the Ashcan School, partly because of the lowlife subjects they painted, but also because of the gritty, expressive handling of paint, which you can see in the swift brush strokes of "Forty-two Kids, " and Bellows's famous painting of an illicit prizefight, "Stag at Sharkey's" (1909).

WSJ: Review: Escape to New York | George Bellows at the Royal Academy in London

Given a choice between an exhibit of German Expressionist paintings and a hike up some soul-stirring hill, I'll take the thick brush strokes and green faces every time.

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