Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 3

Lou Barlow
On the Beach (Coney Island, New York) — 1930s Graphic Modernism, WPA

c. 1937

About the Item

Lou Barlow (Louis Breslow), 'On the Beach' (Coney Island) wood engraving, c. 1937, edition c. 25. Signed and titled in pencil. Stamped 'FEDERAL ART PROJECT NYC WPA' in the bottom left margin. A fine, richly-inked impression, with all the fine lines printing clearly, on cream wove paper, with full margins (1 1/2 to 3 inches), in excellent condition. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Scarce. Image size 11 x 8 1/8 inches; sheet size 16 x 11 3/8 inches. Created during the Great Depression for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Federal Art Project, New York City. Impressions of this work are in the permanent collections of the Illinois State Museum and the New York Public Library. ABOUT THE IMAGE Due to Coney Island's proximity to Manhattan, Brooklyn, and other New York boroughs, it began attracting vacationers in the 1830s and 1840s. Most of the vacationers were wealthy and went by carriage roads and steamship services that reduced travel time from a formerly half-day journey to two hours. By the late 1870s, the development of Coney Island's amusement park attractions and hotels drew people from all social classes. When the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company electrified the steam railroads and connected Brooklyn to Manhattan via the Brooklyn Bridge at the beginning of the 20th century, Coney Island turned rapidly from a resort to an accessible location for day-trippers seeking to escape the summer heat in New York City's tenements. In 1915, the Sea Beach Line was upgraded to a subway line, and the opening of the Stillwell Avenue station in 1919 ushered in Coney Island's busiest era. On the peak summer days, over a million people would travel to Coney Island. In 1937, New York City purchased a 400-foot-wide strip of land along the shoreline to allow the boardwalk to be moved 300 feet inland. At this point, Coney Island was so crowded on summer weekends that parks commissioner Robert Moses observed that a coffin would provide more space per person.
  • Creator:
    Lou Barlow
  • Creation Year:
    c. 1937
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 11 in (27.94 cm)Width: 8.18 in (20.78 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Myrtle Beach, SC
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: 1035231stDibs: LU53236097102
More From This SellerView All
  • City Scene I — Mid-Century Modernism, Precisionism
    By Bernard Brussel-Smith
    Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
    Bernard Brussel-Smith, 'City Scene I', wood engraving, 1949, edition 100. Signed, titled, and numbered '93/100' in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impression, on white wove paper, wi...
    Category

    1940s American Modern Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Woodcut

  • City Scene II — Mid-Century Modernism, Precisionism
    By Bernard Brussel-Smith
    Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
    Bernard Brussel-Smith, 'City Scene II', wood engraving, 1949, artist's proof, edition 100. Signed, titled, and annotated 'A.P.' in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impression, on whit...
    Category

    1940s American Modern Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Woodcut

  • 'Spring' — 1920s American Modernism, Color Woodcut
    By Charles Turzak
    Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
    Charles Turzak, 'Spring', color woodcut, edition 50, c. 1925. Signed, titled, and numbered '4/50' in pencil. Signed in the block, lower left. A fine impression, with fresh colors, on...
    Category

    1920s American Modern Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Woodcut

  • 'Autumn' — 1920s American Modernism, Color Woodcut
    By Charles Turzak
    Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
    Charles Turzak, 'Autumn', color woodcut, edition 50, c. 1925. Signed, titled and numbered '17/50' in pencil. Signed in the block, lower left. A fine impression, with fresh colors, on...
    Category

    1920s American Modern Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Woodcut

  • 'Sailor and His Girl' —Mid-Century Modernism, WWII
    By Bernard Brussel-Smith
    Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
    Bernard Brussel-Smith, 'Sailor and His Girl', wood engraving, 1941, edition 35. Signed, titled, and numbered '21/35' in pencil. Signed in the block, lower right. A superb, richly-in...
    Category

    1940s American Modern Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Woodcut

  • 'The Start of the Race' — America's Cup, 1899
    By Jacques La Grange
    Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
    Jacques La Grange, 'The Start of the Race, 1899', color woodcut, edition 500, 1934. Signed and numbered '21/500' in pencil. A fine impression, with fresh colors, on cream wove paper,...
    Category

    1930s American Modern Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Woodcut

You May Also Like
  • THE RUG WEAVER
    By Gustave Baumann
    Located in Santa Monica, CA
    GUSTAVE BAUMANN (1881 – 1971) THE RUG WEAVER, 1910 (Chamberlain 26) Color woodcut signed in pencil. Unnumbed from an edition 100 as published in the Hills o’ Brown...
    Category

    1910s American Modern Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Woodcut

  • Walter DuBois Richards, The Lobster Float
    By Walter DuBois Richards
    Located in New York, NY
    Ohio-born Walter DuBois Richards (1907-2006) was educated at the Cleveland School of Art. He re-located to New York around 1933 where he had a successful career as a commercial artis...
    Category

    1930s American Modern Landscape Prints

    Materials

    Woodcut

  • City Evening, Large Scale Whiteline Woodcut New York City at Night ed. 25
    By Aline Feldman
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Aline Feldman was born in 1928 and grew up in Kansas. She studied design and printmaking at Washington University in St. Louis under Werner Drewes and Fred Becker, respectively. She studied painting at Indiana University...
    Category

    1980s American Modern Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Woodcut

  • FRUIT FOR SALE
    By Frances H. Gearhart
    Located in Santa Monica, CA
    FRANCES H. GEARHART and Sisters (THE GEARHARTS) FRUIT FOR SALE c.1928 Color block print. Unsigned. This is an original block print from “Let’s Play”, an intended but unpublished children’s book done in collaboration with her sisters Edna and May in 1928. Image 8 x 7 inches. On a tissue thin laid paper. Irregular sheet 9 3/8 x 8 1/2. The entire series consisted of over 20 children's images. There were very few printed. The editions of the various children varied but likely no more than 50. This impression very well printed with good colors, Very good condition. The margins are likely as issued with the irregular edges. The margins and paper used for this series varies from one print to the next. A bit of tape remnants at top center sheet edge. A very nice example of this print. It is not unusual for impressions of this series to be unsigned, although many are signed "The Gearharts" The Provenance of this example is fascinating. It was acquired from a gentleman who knew the Gearharts as a child in the early 50's in Pasadena. It was part of a collection given to him by Frances. In his adult years he was in the military and took the collection with him as he traveled around Europe, After 81 years, based on the original prints, this book was published by the “California Book...
    Category

    1920s American Modern Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Woodcut, Linocut

  • Portrait of Modern Man - Multilayer Woodblock in Ink on Paper
    Located in Soquel, CA
    Portrait of Anger - Multilayer Woodblock in Ink on Paper Bold and saturated woodblock print of a screaming man by Michael Dow (American, 20th Century). The man is centered in this m...
    Category

    1990s American Modern Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Paper, Ink, Woodcut

  • 3 Turns - Surfing Art - Figurative Print - Woodcut Print By Marc Zimmerman
    By Marc Zimmerman
    Located in Carmel, CA
    Three surfers carving up the Hawaiian waves, having a blast in the tropical surf. 3 Turns - Surfing Art - Figurative Print - Woodcut Print By Marc Zimmerman Limited Edition 01/05 ...
    Category

    2010s American Modern Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Woodcut

Recently Viewed

View All