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CONNECTIONS
Each signature may be linked to the others by up to 53 thematic connections. Some are common to many signatures; others highlight unusual, yet notable, associations and interests. Friendships are not represented because so many signers were friends. Go to "The Bohemians" to view and interact with all 53 connections.
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THE DOOR
Perhaps no other neighborhood in Manhattan is as famous for being an artists’ haven as Greenwich Village. Throughout the twentieth century, generations of painters, sculptors, illustrators, and other visual artists flocked to the Village to set up apartments and studios, and to take part in its fabled bohemian lifestyle. The years during which Frank Shay’s bookshop was open is no exception, and over forty artist signatures appear on the door. Some artists, perhaps most notably the painter John Sloan, also used local bars and street scenes as subject matter in their artworks.
"Greenwich Village Too Expensive" in The Greenwich Villager, 1921
Famous as a haven for artists in the 1910s, the Village became infamous for its rising rents in the 1920s. This article, possibly written by the publisher of this newspaper, Frank Shay, calls attention to the plight of one of many artists fleeing to more affordable Bohemian haunts.