DOI Heft:
Nr. 220 (June, 1915)
DOI Artikel:Monk, William: An English artist's impressions of New York
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43458#0378
An English Artist's Impressions of New York
three or four workmen standing on it in the easy
unconcerned classic poses which are perfectly
natural to them : and it makes one wish that a
public could be found who would encourage artists
to record these subjects.
The night effects from the Sound and the river
are very beautiful and unique. Nowhere else in
the world can such a sight be seen as the lighted
express lifts rising to the tops of the dark sky-
scrapers like a succession of rockets. The illumin-
ated advertisements in Broadway are most startling,
and whatever one may think of such means of
publicity it must be admitted that they are un-
commonly well done in New York. A great
chariot race is seen in full colour with horses
galloping and cloaks fluttering. Above this, at
intervals, advertisements flash out announcing
somebody’s revolvers or chewing gum. Then
there is the face of a girl in outline, high up
in the air, with a winking eye. Pierrots throw
coloured balls across to each other and there are
countless other designs. And the searchlights
suddenly make vast towers appear out of the
darkness. The problems of colour and the bold
effects of light and shade given by modern electric
lighting offer endless possibilities, and the illumin-
ated advertisements, however nerve shattering,
often come effectively into the scheme.
My impressions of New York concern the archi-
tecture and setting, the figure interest being
subordinated; but the human side would form
material for many illustrated articles. The types,
white and coloured, seen about the quays along the
Hudson River and in the streets leading to them,
are splendidly picturesque. Ellis Island teems
with fine subjects and for the man who likes modern
society types there are Fifth Avenue and Central
Park, almost ultra-modern.
Being so much occupied with the City itself I
had not the time to see much of the surrounding
country. Mr. Kenneth Frazier, a portrait painter
and old Bushey student, invited me for a week-end
to his house at West Point, and on the way thither
I had glimpses of the Palisades and small towns.
West Point itself is hilly, with fine timber and rocky
streams, most promising for landscape work. The
Military College is a fine group of modern Gothic
buildings which fall most happily into harmony with
the rocky Palisades. The country houses in the
district have the old Colonial feeling and a great
air of comfort and distinction. I was driven in
a “Buckboard” and made acquaintance with
American country scenes which have interested me
in American magazines for years and I was most
fortunate to see something of them under such
pleasant conditions.
“FROM BROOKLYN BRIDGE5’ (ETCHING)
254
BY WILLIAM MONK, R.E,
three or four workmen standing on it in the easy
unconcerned classic poses which are perfectly
natural to them : and it makes one wish that a
public could be found who would encourage artists
to record these subjects.
The night effects from the Sound and the river
are very beautiful and unique. Nowhere else in
the world can such a sight be seen as the lighted
express lifts rising to the tops of the dark sky-
scrapers like a succession of rockets. The illumin-
ated advertisements in Broadway are most startling,
and whatever one may think of such means of
publicity it must be admitted that they are un-
commonly well done in New York. A great
chariot race is seen in full colour with horses
galloping and cloaks fluttering. Above this, at
intervals, advertisements flash out announcing
somebody’s revolvers or chewing gum. Then
there is the face of a girl in outline, high up
in the air, with a winking eye. Pierrots throw
coloured balls across to each other and there are
countless other designs. And the searchlights
suddenly make vast towers appear out of the
darkness. The problems of colour and the bold
effects of light and shade given by modern electric
lighting offer endless possibilities, and the illumin-
ated advertisements, however nerve shattering,
often come effectively into the scheme.
My impressions of New York concern the archi-
tecture and setting, the figure interest being
subordinated; but the human side would form
material for many illustrated articles. The types,
white and coloured, seen about the quays along the
Hudson River and in the streets leading to them,
are splendidly picturesque. Ellis Island teems
with fine subjects and for the man who likes modern
society types there are Fifth Avenue and Central
Park, almost ultra-modern.
Being so much occupied with the City itself I
had not the time to see much of the surrounding
country. Mr. Kenneth Frazier, a portrait painter
and old Bushey student, invited me for a week-end
to his house at West Point, and on the way thither
I had glimpses of the Palisades and small towns.
West Point itself is hilly, with fine timber and rocky
streams, most promising for landscape work. The
Military College is a fine group of modern Gothic
buildings which fall most happily into harmony with
the rocky Palisades. The country houses in the
district have the old Colonial feeling and a great
air of comfort and distinction. I was driven in
a “Buckboard” and made acquaintance with
American country scenes which have interested me
in American magazines for years and I was most
fortunate to see something of them under such
pleasant conditions.
“FROM BROOKLYN BRIDGE5’ (ETCHING)
254
BY WILLIAM MONK, R.E,