“The Subway,” painted by George Tooker in 1950, is a tempera on board piece that belongs to the Magic Realism movement and is categorized as a symbolic painting. With dimensions of 47 x 92.7 cm, this artwork is housed in the Whitney Museum of American Art located in New York City, NY, US.
The artwork captures an eerie and disquieting scene set in a subway, depicted in meticulous detail with figures conveying a sense of unease and isolation. Multiple individuals are shown in the confined space, each appearing detached and absorbed in their own world. The geometrical precision of the architecture, with its sharp angles and repetitive patterns, contributes to a claustrophobic atmosphere. A woman standing prominently in the foreground, dressed in a red and blue coat, appears contemplatively anxious, adding to the overall feeling of alienation. The portrayal of other figures in static poses, some with downcast eyes and others gazing off into the distance or interacting minimally with their surroundings, accentuates the theme of urban anonymity and existential anxiety. The meticulous use of tempera highlights the starkness and rigidity of the environment, reinforcing the painting’s symbolic exploration of modern life’s anxieties and solitudes.
