The Noon Hour

1931

The Noon Hour, 1931. Peggy Bacon (American, 1895–1987). Etching; platemark: 12.6 x 17.5 cm (4 15/16 x 6 7/8 in.); sheet: 21.2 x 28.4 cm (8 3/8 x 11 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1931.246 The setting in Peggy Bacon’s print could be a street in one of several New York City neighborhoods, where brownstone dwellers emerge from their homes for a noontime walk with the dog, school children play, street vendors sell their wares, and a corner luncheonette does swift business. Bacon’s etchings were taken directly from everyday life in the city, embellished with a bit of wit and humor in the form of caricatured city types, such as the elderly woman with a cane and the tussling ruffians.