Skip to main contentProvenanceThe artist
Margo Pollins Schab, Inc., New York, New York
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1996
Exhibition HistoryPublished References
Fritz Eichenberg
(American, 1901–1990)
City Lights
1934
Wood engraving
Image: 6 3/4 x 4 3/4 in. (17.1 x 12.1 cm)
Sheet: 11 1/2 x 9 in. (29.2 x 22.9 cm)
Mat: 20 x 16 in. (50.8 x 40.6 cm)
Sheet: 11 1/2 x 9 in. (29.2 x 22.9 cm)
Mat: 20 x 16 in. (50.8 x 40.6 cm)
Credit LineTerra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection
Object number1996.17
CopyrightArt© The Fritz Eichenberg Trust/ Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
SignedIn graphite, lower right (beneath image): Fritz Eichenberg
InterpretationFritz Eichenberg's wood engraving City Lights features the tawdry heart of Manhattan's entertainment district, accented by show signs proclaiming "Dancing/50 Glamorous Girls" and the movies "Kidnapped" and "Get a Life," along with the Paramount Theater's billboard of a wide-eyed starlet. Like the two sailors entering this lively Times Square scene at lower right, the viewer becomes an engaged observer. In the midst of the boisterous crowd, a saxophone player embodies the upbeat spirit of American modernity as he performs on an improvised stage. Between the musician and a curvaceous woman pedestrian in a figure-hugging evening dress and seen from behind, a shouting newsboy holds up a paper for sale. At left, a dandy, sporting a daisy in his lapel, grins broadly as he tightly clutches his stylish lady friend, while a mounted policeman surveys the crowd.
Eichenberg exploited wood engraving's flat areas of black tone made by printing the uncut areas of the wood block left in relief, particularly noticeable in the silhouetted pair of sailors and the dark buildings in the background. He selectively carved away areas of the block to create light areas, such as the illuminated marquee at the upper left, and to highlight the modeling of the central musician and varied social types in this sidewalk parade.
Along with Subway (TF 1995.34), City Lights was one of Eichenberg's "New York Impressions" series, among the first prints the artist made in the United States after emigrating from his native Germany. Although Eichenberg arrived during the Great Depression, the crowded composition of this print evokes the bustling vibrancy and energy he encountered in New York. With its dense detail of urban social types, crowded setting, and complex network of lines this wood engraving recalls Reginald Marsh's etching Tattoo-Shave-Haircut (TF 1995.18) of two years earlier, another urban night scene set in a seedy New York neighborhood.
Eichenberg exploited wood engraving's flat areas of black tone made by printing the uncut areas of the wood block left in relief, particularly noticeable in the silhouetted pair of sailors and the dark buildings in the background. He selectively carved away areas of the block to create light areas, such as the illuminated marquee at the upper left, and to highlight the modeling of the central musician and varied social types in this sidewalk parade.
Along with Subway (TF 1995.34), City Lights was one of Eichenberg's "New York Impressions" series, among the first prints the artist made in the United States after emigrating from his native Germany. Although Eichenberg arrived during the Great Depression, the crowded composition of this print evokes the bustling vibrancy and energy he encountered in New York. With its dense detail of urban social types, crowded setting, and complex network of lines this wood engraving recalls Reginald Marsh's etching Tattoo-Shave-Haircut (TF 1995.18) of two years earlier, another urban night scene set in a seedy New York neighborhood.
Margo Pollins Schab, Inc., New York, New York
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1996
Exhibition History
Le Temps des loisirs : peintures américaines (At Leisure: American Paintings), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, July 15–October 31, 2007.
In the Streets: Modern Life and Urban Experiences in the Art of the United States, 1893-1976 (Pelas ruas: vida moderna e experiências urbanas na arte dos Estados Unidos, 1893–1976). Terra Foundation for American Art and Pinacoteca de São Paulo (organizers). Venue: Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, August 27, 2022–January 30, 2023. [exh. cat.]
In the Streets: Modern Life and Urban Experiences in the Art of the United States, 1893-1976 (Pelas ruas: vida moderna e experiências urbanas na arte dos Estados Unidos, 1893–1976). Terra Foundation for American Art and Pinacoteca de São Paulo (organizers). Venue: Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, August 27, 2022–January 30, 2023. [exh. cat.]
Eichenberg, Fritz. The Wood and the Graver: The Work of Fritz Eichenberg. New York: C. N. Potter & Barre, Mass., Imprint Society, 1977. Ill. p. 21.
Robertson, Bruce. Representing America: The Ken Travey Collection of American Realist Prints. (exh. cat., University Art Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara). Santa Barbara, California: University Art Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1995. Fig. 12, p. 22.
Piccoli, Valéria, Fernanda Pitta, and Taylor Poulin. Pelas ruas: vida moderna e experiências urbanas na arte dos Estados Unidos, 1893-1976. (exh. cat., Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo and Terra Foundation for American Art). São Paulo, Brazil: Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, 2022. Text p. 14; pl. p. 103 (color).
Robertson, Bruce. Representing America: The Ken Travey Collection of American Realist Prints. (exh. cat., University Art Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara). Santa Barbara, California: University Art Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1995. Fig. 12, p. 22.
Piccoli, Valéria, Fernanda Pitta, and Taylor Poulin. Pelas ruas: vida moderna e experiências urbanas na arte dos Estados Unidos, 1893-1976. (exh. cat., Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo and Terra Foundation for American Art). São Paulo, Brazil: Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, 2022. Text p. 14; pl. p. 103 (color).