Friends 1942

Isabel Bishop made this etching, called ‘Friends’, with dry state and soft ground. The artwork portrays two women standing close together, seemingly engaged in an intimate conversation or sharing a quiet moment. Bishop was part of the Fourteenth Street School, artists who focused on depicting everyday life in New York City. Her work captured the energy and dynamism of urban existence, particularly of working-class women. In ‘Friends’ there's an emphasis on female relationships and the portrayal of women as active participants in the urban environment. The image resonates with the social realism movement that was prominent in American art during the early to mid-20th century, which sought to depict the lives of ordinary people. To fully understand Bishop's place, a great place to begin would be with resources documenting the history of American art. That’s how we can appreciate the social context that shaped it. Art is often contingent on social and institutional context.