New York at Dusk
c. 1923
Medium
charcoal and blue wash on wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 34.8 x 26 cm (13 11/16 x 10 1/4 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mortimer Brandt, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art
Accession Number
1991.110.7
Art Historical Context
Sir Muirhead Bone, a Scottish draughtsman and etcher knighted for his contributions to British art, captured the vibrant energy of 1920s New York *New York at Dusk (c. 1923). Best known for his precise architectural renderings and service as an official World War I artist, Bone traveled to America during this period, documenting the city's rapidly evolving skyline. This intimate drawing, measuring just 34.8 x 26 cm, evokes the twilight hush over the bustling metropolis, with emerging skyscrapers silhouetted against a fading sky—a snapshot of New York's transformation into a modern marvel durin...
About the Artist
Sir Muirhead Bone
Sir Muirhead Bone (1876–1953), born David Muirhead Bone in Partick, Glasgow, to a journalist father and descended from a family of printers, showed early artistic promise. Apprenticed at fourteen first as a porcelain painter and then as an architect's draughtsman for four years, he honed his draughtsmanship while attending evening classes at the Glasgow School of Art under teachers Archibald Kay a...