Wednesday, July 7, 2021 – THINK OF SUMMER IN NEW YORK ON TOP OF “TAR BEACH”
FROM THE ARCHIVES
WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2021
409th ISSUE
Artist
SAUL KOVNER
HARLEM RIVER FRONT
Saul Kovner
Russian-born Saul Kovner studied at the National Academy of Design in New York City with Charles Hawthorne and William Auerbach-Levy, considered one of America’s most renowned caricaturists. Kovner was employed as a painter and printmaker by the Federal Art Project, a branch of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) created during the Great Depression to give financial and moral support to America’s artists. He often dropped his surname when signing his prints, and is also known simply as “Saul.” After his training at the National Academy of Design, Kovner maintained a studio near Central Park, creating paintings and drawings of the city and its people. He later moved to California and exhibited widely on the West Coast.
Saul Kovner, Tompkins Park, N.Y. City, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum acquisition, 1980.48
Saul Kovner’s Tompkins Park, N.Y. City was painted in 1934, under the patronage of the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), a New Deal program created by the federal government to offer work and financial support to America’s artists during the Great Depression. The public park, situated in the Alphabet City section of Manhattan’s East Village, is named in honor of Daniel D. Tompkins (1774−1825), who served as governor of New York from 1807 to 1817 and as vice president of the United States under James Monroe from 1817 to 1825. The PWAP encouraged their commissioned artists to capture “the American Scene,” and in this painting Kovner conveys strong messages of community spirit and American values. Children and adults enjoy winter in the park, building snowmen and playing with sleds; the presence of the Stars and Stripes in the center of the work places this as a uniquely American scene.
Saul Kovner, Skating in Central Park, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Newark Museum, 1966.31.10
Saul Kovner, Smoke and Steam, 1939, lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Audrey McMahon, 1968.98.16
Eastside Backyards, 1934
TENTING IN YOSEMITE
HOT SUMMER NIGHT
WATERFRONT, BALBOA
SNOW OVER CROTONA PARK
WEDNESDAY PHOTOS OF THE DAY
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TUESDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY
DETAIL OF VIGNOLI NYC SUBWAY MAP
LOTS OF INTERESTING ANSWERS FROM:
NINA LUBLIN, HARA REISER, LAURA HUSSEY,
MITCH HAMMER. ALEXIS VILLEFANE,
M. FRANK, VICKI FEINMEL AND JAY JACOBSON
SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM
ART NET
(1) Frank Diaz Escalet, “Mask of Solitudes: A Portrait of Frank Diaz Escalet,” interview for La Plaza, PBS/WGBH Boston, Nov. 3, 1988.
(2) Interview with Derek Fowles, “Portrait of an artist’s life: Frank Diaz Escalet paints from experience,” University of Massachusetts Amherst Student Newsletter, Sept. 29-Oct. 20, 1994.
(3) Escalet, “Mask of Solitudes,” interview for La Plaza, 1988.
(4) Michael R. Vosburgh, “Latin artist portrays ‘life’ in his work,” The Daily Globe, Worthington, Minnesota, Oct. 1995.
(5) Jared Quinn, “MultiCultural Center Showcases African-American Exhibit Illustrating Cultural Influences,” UC Santa Barbara Daily Nexus, Santa Barbara, California, Oct. 8, 1999.
(6) Escalet, “Mask of Solitudes,” interview for La Plaza, 1988.
(7) Interview with Jenifer McKim, The Boston Globe, Nov. 10, 1996.
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