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New York 1911 George Bellows
oil on canvas |
| In New York, Bellows was careful to depict the green and yellow trolleys that ran along
Broadway, the Third Avenue line's red and tan cars, and the iron tracks of the Sixth
Avenue elevated train. Despite these "realistic" elements, the painting actually presents a
composite of the streets converging on Union Square and the canyon-like blocks of office
buildings located farther downtown. But for at least one critic it was the quintessential
picture of the city: "When you first see it you are filled with amazement, so full is it of
motion. . . . Men and women are hurrying across the streets, trolleys are clanging their
way in and out, a policeman is keeping people from being run over, you feel the rush,
you hear the noise, and you wish you were safely home."
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