East River Construction by Armin Landeck
East River Construction
Armin Landeck
Title
East River Construction
Artist
Armin Landeck
1905 - 1984 (biography)Year
1941 / printed later
Technique
engraving
Image Size
8 1/8 x 12 7/8" platemark
Signature
pencil, lower right
Edition Size
100
Annotations
dated after the signature
Reference
Kraeft 85, illustrated p. 63; LC 8, illustrated p. 253
Paper
antique-white wove
State
published
Publisher
artist
Inventory ID
TILA115
Price
$1,000.00
Description
New York's East River connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. Today this salt water tidal strait has been cleaned up and sports bike trails. In the 1940s there were numerous industries along the banks that belched smoke and polluted the water.
Many artists were fascinated by what "modernity" brought to the landscape, and were able to see the beauty, despite the beast. For this engraving, Landeck was inspired by the angles and the scale of this rather awkward looking construction, possibly a coal hopper. His use of the engraving burin allows Landeck to create a direct, precisionist, crisp composition, using just lines.