International studio (51.1913/1914)

New York as Seen by Henry Deville

NEW YORK AS SEEN BY HENRY
DEVILLE
BY MILDRED STAPLEY
American artists are constantly de-
picting Paris street scenes, but a French artist
doing the same for our American metropolis is
unique. To any picture-loving foreigner the
first view of its towering mass as he comes up
the bay is so startling that he cannot fail to
apprehend its qualities, but not many realize
that its details are also beautiful. Mr. Henry
Deville, who etched the accompanying New
York scenes, is one whom the far-off view
only piqued to further investigation. He started
to study our tall buildings from every corner that

gives a glimpse of them, until now, after etching
them for some four years, he is more enthusiastic
than ever and declares his subject to be inexhausti-
ble. The entire lower city, as it composes from
the bay or from either river or separate tall build-
ings as central notes; bridges delicate and lacy;
shipping backed up by cliff-like architecture;
crowds of brokers in front of the Stock Exchange
—all these suggest more pictures than a lifetime
would suffice to execute. And so Mr. Deville
remains in New York, giving us not the hurried
impressions of a transient (though these, as in the
case of Air. Joseph Pennell, are often brilliant
enough) but the well-studied results of being him-
self a very part of our crowded metropolitan life,
and of knowing our every aspect far more famil-
iarly than many a native-
born knows it.
It is amazing that such a
thrilling subject as New York
City should prompt so few
American artists, especially
etchers. It is now several
years since Mr. Pennell pro-
claimed it “ A composition in
colour and form finer than any-
thing Claude ever knew or
Turner ever imagined, and all
new and all untouched, all to
be done.” Yet no Meryon
has risen in our midst to re-
cord in etchings the New York
of the early twentieth century
as he recorded the Paris of the
middle nineteenth—always
excepting Mr. Pennell’s own
splendid plates. But his stay
in New York was brief. Mr.
Mielatz, another etcher of
fine artistic quality, concerns
himself mostly with whatever
Colonial bits are still left in
our rapidly modernizing city.
Air. Harry Winslow gave us
a few excellent pictures of
New York, and then went
abroad to live. Mr. Herman
Webster also prefers living
abroad, and during his one
short visit here etched a single
plate, Cortlandt Street. But
Mr. Deville lives here; daily
he visits the canons of lower


METROPOLITAN TOWER FROM NEWTOWN CREEK ETCHING BY HENRY DEVILLE

Manhattan; skyscrapers fas-

CLXV