Description

John Sloan made this print in the year that Prohibition was passed in the United States, banning the sale, manufacture, and transport of alcoholic beverages. The etching depicts two men attempting to persuade two women to join them in a downstairs establishment for—as the sign says—“tea” and “dance.” The era’s viewers would have recognized that such “tea rooms” were in fact speakeasies, providing access to prohibited beverages. The entryway is crowded with curious patrons, and one woman begins to descend the steps.