Monday, February 14, 2022 – HE FOLLOWED BUILDINGS AND THEIR CONSTRUCTION
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2022
597th Issue
IRVING UNDERHILL
MASTER
NEW YORK
PHOTOGRAPER
WIKIPEDIA
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Macy’s Herald Square LC-USZ62-123584 crop
Macy’s Bldg. & Herald Square, New York City, 1907.
Irving Underhill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Irving Underhill (1872–1960) was one of the most notable commercial photographers in New York City during the first half of the 20th century. He produced work that was featured in postcards and numerous publications while he was still alive, and that continues to be exhibited and receive recognition long after his death.
Wall Street, New York City
Glossy color postcard of Wall Street, New York, New York. Back is divided. Published by The American Art Publishing Co., New York City, #R-34320. It reads “Wall Street Canyon, the financial heart of America, is occupied entirely by banks, trust companies and financial interests. The Stock Exchange on left, the U. S. Sub-Treasury and Bankers Trust Building 39 stories high on right.”
Highlights of artistic output and recognition
Irving Underhill, Luna Park and Surf Avenue, Coney Island, 1912. Gelatin dry glass plate negative. Brooklyn Museum
Irving Underhill, Manhattan Bridge Construction 1909
Underhill took a particular interest in capturing the cityscape, landmarks, tall buildings, and nautical scenes. In 1911 Woolworth hired Underhill – whose studio directly fronted the building site – to document the construction of the Woolworth Building at regularly timed intervals. The photographs were then mailed to store managers throughout the country and abroad, with the recommendation that they be distributed and published as “widely as possible.”[6][7] Another self-published work that was a promotional piece in collaboration with the Hudson River Day Line was entitled The Hudson River: photo-gravures.[8]
He was enlisted in the Prohibition with photographs from a Federal Prohibition Laboratory that accompanied a 1926 New York Times article, showing shelves and shelves of liquor.[9]
Irving Underhill was particularly adept at showing the juxtaposition of old pedestrian-scaled buildings and newer skyscrapers that seemed to dominate the older city. Such was the case with one photo of the Trinity Church Spire, shown against the new fifty-story 1 Wall Street at Broadway and Wall, which in 1931 was said to be the most costly plot of real estate in the entire world.[10] Underhill also photographed the rise of the Empire State Building.
In an article celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Architectural League of New York, in 1931, an article in The New York Times entitled “From Roofs to Towers and Slats”, prominently featured a photograph Irving Underhill.[11] This photograph showed the skyline below City Hall Park at the beginning of the century, to symbolize the passing of an era before tall buildings began to dominate the cityscape.
In 1982, a book entitled New York, photographs, 1850-1950 featured some of Underhill’s work, particular his photo of Columbus Circle between 58th and 60th Streets.[12]
A photo of the Woolworth Building in 1913 made shortly after construction was completed was highlighted in a 1993 New York Times article. Charles Hagen compared this photo with an etching from John Marin about the same time, and wrote “Irving Underhill’s photo, made the same year, offers a more sober depiction of the building’s Gothic forms than Marin’s giddy impression, but records it with a mixture of down-to-earth factuality and pride.”[13]
Irving Underhill’s work was displayed along with Berenice Abbott‘s in 1993 exhibition by the Museum of the City of New York entitled “New York Saved: 30 Years of Landmarks Preservation.” The exhibition displayed Underhill’s photo of the exterior of Grand Central Terminal in 1919.[14] Still later, a photograph showing the West Street Building and the Singer Tower from the Hudson River, taken by Underhill ca. 1908, was included in a book on Cass Gilbert.[1]
The work of Irving Underhill continues to resonate today. A colored postcard of Columbus Circle from 1925, was used in a 2005 New York Times article.[15] His picture of the Manhattan Bridge from a New York Times article in 1909, was highlighted in a 2009 article talking about the same bridge and how it has struggled to earn recognition and respect. Underhill’s photo shows the beginning of decking being hung tenuously from the thick and heavy cables overhead.[16]
Digitization efforts have brought Underhill’s work into the public spotlight once again. The New York Public Library Digital Gallery, includes 249 Items under the name “Underhill, Irving” in their digital collection available via their website. Likewise, the Museum of the City of New York has 142 results of digitized images available to view in their online collection. The Brooklyn Museum now has 119 Underhill images in their online digital collection.
Queensboro Bridge LCCN2002706025.tif
Title: Queensboro Bridge Abstract/medium: 1 photographic print.
Blackwell’s Island Bridge LCCN90710123.jpg
Title: Blackwell’s Island Bridge Abstract/medium: 1 photographic print.
Columbia University bldgs. LCCN97515116.jpg
Title: Columbia University bldgs. Abstract/medium: 1 photographic print.
Woolworth Building, made July 1st, 1912 LCCN90710127.jpg
Title: Woolworth Building, made July 1st, 1912 Abstract/medium: 1 photographic. print.
Singer and Woolworth Bldgs. from 120 B’way LCCN90710888.tif
Title: Singer and Woolworth Bldgs. from 120 B’way Abstract/medium: 1 photographic print.
Museum of Natural History LCCN97517297.tif
Title: Museum of Natural History Abstract/medium: 1 photographic print.
Synod Hall, Cathedral of St. John the Divine LCCN97506444.tif
Title: Synod Hall, Cathedral of St. John the Divine Abstract/medium: 1 photographic print.
American Express Bldg. Entrance, 65 B’way, NYC LCCN99402714.jpg
Title: American Express Bldg. Entrance, 65 B’way, NYC Abstract/medium: 1 photographic print.
Hydro-aeroplane – Wright model at Battery, N.Y. LCCN2002718324.tif
Title: Hydro-aeroplane – Wright model at Battery, N.Y. Abstract/medium: 1 photographic print.
Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress Public domain
Hydro-aeroplane – Wright model at Battery, N.Y. LCCN2002718324.ti 1912
New York City- Century Opera House, Central Park west & 62nd St. LCCN2003678134.jpg Title: New York City: Century Opera House, Central Park west & 62nd St. Abstract/medium: 1 photographic print.
Title: Arsenal Central Park Abstract/medium: 1 photographic print.Date1914
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Bonnie Yochelson is an art historian and independent curator. She has written books and organized exhibitions on many New York City photographers, including Berenice Abbott, Alfred Stieglitz and Jacob Riis. She completed the aforementioned digital exhibit, “Miss Alice Austen and Staten Island’s Gilded Age,” as part of “Writing the History of Greater New York,” a resident fellowship at The Gotham Center for New York City History, The Graduate Center, CUNY, established by the Robert D.L. Gardiner Foundation. Support was also provided by Historic Richmond Town.
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