Skip to main contentProvenanceThe artist
Margo Pollins Schab, Inc., New York, New York
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1995
Exhibition HistoryPublished References
Kyra Markham
(American, 1891–1967)
Bleecker Street Fire Hydrant
1942
Lithograph on off-white wove paper
Image: 8 5/8 x 10 9/16in. (21.9 x 26.8cm)
Sheet: 12 9/16 x 15 7/8in. (31.9 x 40.3cm)
Mat: 16 x 20in. (40.6 x 50.8cm)
Sheet: 12 9/16 x 15 7/8in. (31.9 x 40.3cm)
Mat: 16 x 20in. (40.6 x 50.8cm)
Credit LineTerra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection
Object number1995.43
SignedIn graphite, lower right beneath image: Kyra Markham '42
InterpretationKyra Markham's deftly drawn lithograph of children frolicking in fountain-like water jets emitted by a New York City street hydrant is the artist's most popular print. On hot summer days, as local newspapers illustrate almost every year, urban neighborhood youths delight in the unofficial transformation of an emergency water supply into an improvised recreational sprinkler offering cooling relief. In this print, in the right background, a pot-bellied man, standing besides a pharmacy storefront, serves as the lone onlooker; low rise buildings with two rows of dark windows line the left background.
Several of Markham's prints were variants of images created in other media. This print is related to her colorful oil painting of the same subject (see Christie's, New York, Sale 1554, September 15, 2005, lot 146). Details in the print and the larger painting vary, but the most significant difference is the time of day. The artist shifted the painting's daytime scene into night for the print, using the black and white monochromes of lithography to show children boisterously splashing in the glow of lamplight on a sweltering evening.
Several of Markham's prints were variants of images created in other media. This print is related to her colorful oil painting of the same subject (see Christie's, New York, Sale 1554, September 15, 2005, lot 146). Details in the print and the larger painting vary, but the most significant difference is the time of day. The artist shifted the painting's daytime scene into night for the print, using the black and white monochromes of lithography to show children boisterously splashing in the glow of lamplight on a sweltering evening.
Margo Pollins Schab, Inc., New York, New York
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1995
Exhibition History
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.
Domestic Bliss: Family Life in America, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 12–June 22, 1997.
Le Temps des loisirs : peintures américaines (At Leisure: American Paintings), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2008.Terra Collection-in-Residence, Ashmolean Museum of Art & Archaeology, Oxford, United Kingdom, September 15, 2022–September 30, 2026.
Domestic Bliss: Family Life in America, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 12–June 22, 1997.
Le Temps des loisirs : peintures américaines (At Leisure: American Paintings), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2008.Terra Collection-in-Residence, Ashmolean Museum of Art & Archaeology, Oxford, United Kingdom, September 15, 2022–September 30, 2026.
Witkin, Lee D. Kyra Markham, American Fantasist (1891–1967). (exh. cat., The Witkin Gallery, Inc.). New York: The Witkin Gallery, Inc., 1981. Ill. p. 7 (black & white).
Master Prints of Five Centuries, The Alan and Marianne Schwartz Collection. (exh. cat., The Detroit Institute of Arts). Detroit, Michigan: The Detroit Institute of Arts, 1990. No. 73, p. 94.
Master Prints of Five Centuries, The Alan and Marianne Schwartz Collection. (exh. cat., The Detroit Institute of Arts). Detroit, Michigan: The Detroit Institute of Arts, 1990. No. 73, p. 94.