What was happening in the country during the period known as realism

George Bellows, Dempsey and Firpo (1924), Whitney Museum of American ArtGeorge Bellows, New York (1911) Ashcan School artists & friends at John French Sloan's Philadelphia Studio, 1898

American Realism was a style in art, music and literature that depicted contemporary social realities and the lives and everyday activities of ordinary people. The movement began in literature in the mid-19th century, and became an important tendency in visual art in the early 20th century. Whether a cultural portrayal or a scenic view of downtown New York City, American realist works attempted to define what was real.