Studio Scenes No. 1: The Strong Man

In this scene, set inside his Greene Avenue studio, Neumann depicts himself standing in front of the Canadian weightlifting champion Arthur Dandurand. In the background appear artists from Montreal’s Jewish community, from left to right: Louis Muhlstock, who is watching Eric Goldberg at his easel, Jack Beder and Alexander Bercovitch. This composition, which focuses on the sporty pose of the athlete, is comparable to certain works by American Realist artists.