Before they achieved national prominence as part of the Ashcan School, John Sloan, George Luks, William Glackens, and Everett Shinn worked as newspaper illustrators in Philadelphia. There they became good friends, often working in the same office and spending evenings together. This photograph features a mock boxing match that took place one evening at Sloan's studio. Luks is the boxer on the left, Shinn is directly behind him, and Sloan, in derby and pince-nez, stands beside Shinn. Each artist became well known for work that rejected the tradition of aestheticism—or art for art's sake—that prevailed in turn-of-the-century America. By incorporating this photograph in a later tribute to the Ashcan School, ARTnews was deliberately evoking the movement's reputation for irreverence and masculine rebellion.

Unidentified artist
Gelatin silver print, circa 1895
Published November 1954
John Sloan Archives, Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington