Manhattan Gateway

Stow Wengenroth's lithograph Manhattan Gateway features the pedestrian walkway, bordered by an ornate railing, of New York City's famed Brooklyn Bridge. Using a variety of gray tones, Wengenroth contrasted the misty murkiness of the night atmosphere with the rich textures of the stonework of the bridge tower and the crisp black lines of the cables. He used the white of the paper to convey the glow of lamplight and the spots of light on the river and the opposite shore. In the right distance, the artist included a glimpse of the bridge's far tower with its distinctive pointed arch portal in the gothic revival architectural style.

Seventeen years after he made his first lithograph, Wengenroth made this print of the Brooklyn Bridge, the first of his four lithographs depicting the great New York landmark. Over a decade later, the artist depicted the bridge again, during a snowstorm, in Brooklyn Bridge in Winter (TF 1995.51). Both views recreate a pedestrian's experience of the bridge at a particular time of day or season more than they emphasize its distinctive design and massive structure in the manner of such prints as John Taylor Arms's earlier The Gates of the City (TF 1996.3). Wengenroth was better known for his masterful use of crayon lithography to create realistic scenes of coastal Long Island (New York), Massachusetts, and Maine, where he summered, rather than views of New York City, where his studio was located for many years. He made over 350 prints in the course of his career.

Visions of a Nation: Exploring Identity through American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, August 10, 1996–January 12, 1997.

Figures and Forms: Selections from the Terra Foundation for the Arts, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, May 9–July 9, 2000.

On Process: The American Print, Technique Examined, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 13–March 2, 2001.

Stuckey, Ronald and Joan. The Lithographs of Stow Wengenroth 1931–1972. Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Public Library in cooperation with Barre Publishers, 1974. No. 176.

Master Prints of Five Centuries: The Alan and Marianne Schwartz Collection. (exh. cat., The Detroit Institute of Arts). Detroit, Michigan: Founders Society, The Detroit Institute of Arts, 1990. No. 116, p. 126.