The Fulton Fish Market
1953
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
woodcut in black on wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 51 x 66.6 cm (20 1/16 x 26 1/4 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1954.12.53.e
Art Historical Context
**The Fulton Fish Market**, a striking 1953 woodcut by Antonio Frasconi, the raw energy of New York City's iconic seafood hub on the East River. Frasconi, a Uruguayan-born artist who immigrated to the U.S. in 1945, drew inspiration from the bustling daily life of immigrant workers, fishmongers, and vendors amid the market's chaotic rhythm. Created just after World War II, during America's post-war economic boom, the print reflects mid-20th-century urban vitality and the grit of blue-collar labor in a rapidly modernizing city. The Fulton Fish Market, a cornerstone of NYC commerce since 1822, sy...
About the Artist
Antonio Frasconi · 1919–2013
Antonio Frasconi (1919–2013) was a Uruguayan-American artist renowned for his masterful woodcuts, which blended bold graphic power with poignant social commentary. Born on April 28, 1919, aboard a ship between Argentina and Uruguay to Italian immigrant parents, he was raised in poverty in Montevideo, Uruguay, where his mother worked as a seamstress and restaurant manager to support him and his two...