Lot 113 : ERNEST LAWSON (1873-1936)
Auction Location: United States of America - 1990
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Description:
THE FLATIRON BUILDING signed " E Lawson, " l.l. - - oil academy board 20 7/8 x 15 1/4 in. (53 x 38.8 cm.) PROVENANCE Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York Having spent four years in France and another in Canada and Georgia, Lawson and his family settled in Washington Heights, New York in 1898, Until 1915, the artist concentrated on painting New York subjects. Most of his painting related to his neighborhood, featuring scenes of or near the Hudson and Harlem Rivers. The " Flatiron Building " is a major departure and, in fact, is a unique subject depicting the well-known New York landmark. It is around this time that Lawson developed his mature interpretation of the metropolitan area. He also met Glackens, Sloan, Luks, and Shinn and became part of "The Eight". Of the group, he was the landscape painter and shared their ideas in expressing the non-picturesque beauty of the urban scene, here a bustling city crossroads. This painting, " circa " 1903-05, is an early document of the Flatiron Building which was built between 1901 and 1903 by D.H. Burnham and Company. The building, located at 23rd Street between Broadway and Fifth, was originally called The Fuller Building after the people who commissioned it. However, popular opinion nicknamed it the "Flatiron Building" because it looked like an old flatiron which was used to press clothes. The odd angle at which Broadway intersects Fifth Avenue had required Burnham to design a building to fit a narrow, wedge-shaped site. This work is one of three versions of the same subject. Christie's sold one of these versions in these rooms on December 1, 1989. The other version is in a private collection.
