Reginald Marsh

1898–1954

With his staccato brushwork and densely packed compositions, Reginald Marsh captured the vitality of New York in the 1930s. Though born into a wealthy family, Marsh set out to portray everyday urban dwellers—pedestrians, subway riders, Coney Island bathers, burlesque performers, and dance-hall workers. Twenty Cent Movie, like many of his compositions, relies on authentic details—here, the precise imagery, wording, and typeface of the movie marketing campaigns—to activate a sense of realism. A prolific and inveterate sketcher, Marsh made extensive drawings for the composition of this painting, which he based on the facade of the Lyric Theater. The meticulously replicated theater exterior that serves as the painting’s backdrop resembles a stage set, in front of which the scene’s figures are poised for action. The women mimic the fashionable styles of Hollywood actresses, while the man on the far right adopts a self-assured posture in the type of flamboyant suit sported by the gangsters of 1930s cinema. In an era when Hollywood movie stars became national celebrities, Marsh’s characters reflect the bright aspirations projected on the silver screen, but the scene is not without reference to the period’s economic turbulence. The painting’s title, Twenty Cent Movie, reiterated on the box-office sign, alludes to the drop in ticket prices at some theaters to entice an audience during the Great Depression.

Wikipedia entry

Introduction

Reginald Marsh (March 14, 1898 – July 3, 1954) was an American painter, born in Paris, most notable for his depictions of life in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s. Crowded Coney Island beach scenes, popular entertainments such as vaudeville and burlesque, women, and jobless men on the Bowery are subjects that reappear throughout his work. He painted in egg tempera and in oils, and produced many watercolors, ink and ink wash drawings, and prints.

Wikidata identifier

Q7308806

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Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License . Accessed April 13, 2025.

Getty record

Country of birth

France

Roles

Artist, engraver, etcher, genre artist, graphic artist, illustrator, painter

ULAN identifier

500016727

Names

Reginald Marsh, Marsh

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Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed April 13, 2025.

Not on view

First acquired
1931

Date of birth
March 14, 1898

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