Created in 1896 by Charles Graham, The Sky Line of New York illustrates a city at the height of a skyscraper boom. Due to technological advances, structural innovation, and an exponential increase in population, New York City’s vertical vista climbed to new heights in the 1890s. Before 1900, there were 252 buildings above ten stories in Manhattan, the tallest of which were located below Chambers Street. Along with the Brooklyn Bridge to the right of Graham’s painting, the Manhattan Life Insurance Building, Trinity Church, the American Surety Building, the American Tract Society, and the World Building are all visible.
Even with no formal training, Graham used watercolors to capture individual building details with adept accuracy as well as the ethereality of the setting sun and the billowing puffs of steamboats. Along with advancements in construction at the time came comparable improvements in printing and lithography. The Sky Line of New York was produced as a lithograph by G.H. Buek & Co., who specialized in working with watercolors and the latest technology in printing machines.
Painted in 1896 by Charles S. Graham and produced as a lithograph by watercolor specialists G.H. Buek & Co, The Sky Line of New York is a comely, captivating panorama that conveys the splendor of the late 19th century’s lower Manhattan skyline at sunset. It’s a decidedly warm, dreamy scene, bathed in early evening light. The setting sun radiates from the right, sending placid reflections across the East River. The artist’s precise strokes render the boats and buildings with brilliant accuracy, but they also capture the ethereality of the golden hour and the billowing puffs of steam. A busy port, a bustling city, an ever-evolving landscape—this is a living image, an exhalation from history, a picture of progress, industry, and development with an air of wonder ... more on the blog!
+ Limited-edition, exclusive to 20x200
+ Museum quality: archival inks, 100% cotton rag paper unless noted
+ Handcrafted custom-framing is available
Our quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the images, not the printed image itself. We do not alter the aspect ratio, nor do we crop or resize the artists’ originals. All of our prints have a minimum border of .5 inches to allow for framing.
Medium:
Museo Portfolio Rag
Edition Structure:
8"x10" | edition of 10
11"x14" | edition of 200
16"x20" | edition of 50
20"x24" | edition of 10
30"x40" | edition of 5