# Philadelphia Museum of Art - Painting of a Subway Platform **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 20, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/philadelphia-museum-of-art-painting-of-a-subway-platform/848257 "2020-02-20T20:17:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/philadelphia-museum-of-art-painting-of-a-subway-platform/848257/1 "2020-02-20T20:17:48Z")
I was at this museum about 5 years ago and remember a painting of some people in a subway, perhaps some walking down some steps, and others maybe just standing around. It was not a “realist” painting, but certainly not abstract in any way. I figure if you know the museum, there cannot be that many paintings of subways, so hopefully this is enough to go on. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2020, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/philadelphia-museum-of-art-painting-of-a-subway-platform/848257/2 "2020-02-20T20:35:41Z")
[Moderating] Moving to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2020, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/philadelphia-museum-of-art-painting-of-a-subway-platform/848257/3 "2020-02-20T20:54:21Z")
George Tooker’s [The Subway](https://www.wikiart.org/en/george-tooker/the-subway-1950) is at the Whitney Museum in New York, but has been exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Pennsylvania. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/philadelphia-museum-of-art-painting-of-a-subway-platform/848257/4 "2020-02-20T21:22:03Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > George Tooker’s [The Subway](https://www.wikiart.org/en/george-tooker/the-subway-1950) is at the Whitney Museum in New York, but has been exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Pennsylvania. Yep. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/philadelphia-museum-of-art-painting-of-a-subway-platform/848257/5 "2020-02-20T21:36:22Z")
Hmm. Wait a minute. I’m pretty sure\* I saw the painting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, not the Academy. I have seen this, though. Anyone know of another, where as I recall, the palette was a bit darker, and the figures hidden more? - At my age, this means nothing, btw. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/philadelphia-museum-of-art-painting-of-a-subway-platform/848257/6 "2020-02-21T00:00:54Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > George Tooker’s [The Subway](https://www.wikiart.org/en/george-tooker/the-subway-1950) is at the Whitney Museum in New York, but has been exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Pennsylvania. Ooof! Those are some seriously unhappy people he put in that painting! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/philadelphia-museum-of-art-painting-of-a-subway-platform/848257/7 "2020-02-21T01:20:00Z")
Unhappy, yes, but that station is so CLEAN! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/philadelphia-museum-of-art-painting-of-a-subway-platform/848257/8 "2020-02-21T02:36:04Z")
I love that painting. I love George Tooker, period. I need to own “Entertainers.” > **[George Tooker - Entertainers](https://arthur.io/art/george-tooker/entertainers?crtr=1)** > > Browse 56 artworks by George Tooker on Arthur. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/philadelphia-museum-of-art-painting-of-a-subway-platform/848257/9 "2020-02-21T14:25:37Z")
Well, thank you all for introducing me to a painter I was previously unaware of. Deeply impressed. (No surprise to see [Hopper listed as one of his influences.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Tooker#Influences)) j ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/philadelphia-museum-of-art-painting-of-a-subway-platform/848257/10 "2020-02-21T14:56:20Z")
(Gosh those paintings give me the creeps.) ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/philadelphia-museum-of-art-painting-of-a-subway-platform/848257/11 "2020-02-21T15:05:52Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Well, thank you all for introducing me to a painter I was previously unaware of. Deeply impressed. (No surprise to see [Hopper listed as one of his influences.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Tooker#Influences)) > > j Re Hopper, I never thought about it, but given that I love him, perhaps that’s why I was drawn to this one. > [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > (Gosh those paintings give me the creeps.) Don’t like creepy? Then don’t look at [Government Bureau](https://www.wikiart.org/en/george-tooker/government-bureau-1956). Or do, because it’s wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/philadelphia-museum-of-art-painting-of-a-subway-platform/848257/12 "2020-02-21T17:30:40Z")
“Creepy” is the underlying theme to nearly all the art in my house. There’s a framed reproduction of Khnopff’s **I Lock the Door Upon Myself** that our son used to refer to as “the creepy woman.” [https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/symbolism/a/khnopff-i-lock-the-door-upon-myself-essay](https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/symbolism/a/khnopff-i-lock-the-door-upon-myself-essay) ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/philadelphia-museum-of-art-painting-of-a-subway-platform/848257/13 "2020-02-21T17:32:23Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > …don’t look at [Government Bureau](https://www.wikiart.org/en/george-tooker/government-bureau-1956). Or do, because it’s wonderful. You know what’s even worse? **The Waiting Room.** > **[The Waiting Room](https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/waiting-room-24195)** > > George Tooker grew frustrated with the bureaucracy while trying to obtain building permits for a house he bought in New York. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/philadelphia-museum-of-art-painting-of-a-subway-platform/848257/14 "2020-02-21T18:13:20Z")
I thought Hopper right away, with a dollop of Dali (not that Dali was an influence of his, but there’s definitely a surrealist vibe there).