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A vertical steel girder supporting an overhead train track

At center in the extreme foreground, two parallel steel beams fill the view from top to bottom. They are joined by narrow, alternating diagonal struts between them that allow triangular views of the space beyond the support. The beams and struts have been painted in alternating dark and light colored blocks, starting at the bottom with an area of dark paint on the two beams and the diagonal in between forming a backwards “N” shape. A light “N” above this is followed by another dark backwards “N”. In the background at top, the bridge it is supporting and street traffic can be seen receding into the distance.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
P2001.17
People
Ralston Crawford, American (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada 1906 - 1978 Houston, Texas)
Title
Support for the Third Avenue Elevated
Classification
Photographs
Work Type
photograph
Date
1949
Places
Creation Place: North America, United States, New York State, New York City
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/167278

Physical Descriptions

Technique
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 34.3 x 23.1 cm (13 1/2 x 9 1/8 in.)
sheet: 35.4 x 27.9 cm (13 15/16 x 11 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: verso, bottom left, graphite: Sheldon?
  • inscription: verso, bottom right, graphite: #932 JC
  • inscription: verso, bottom left quadrant, black ink, signed, in artist's hand: REPRODUCTION
    FORBIDDEN
    "SUPPORT
    FOR THE THIRD AVENUE
    ELEVATED"
    Ralston Crawford
    3 x 7
  • inscription: verso, center, graphite: 1972 (encircled)
  • inscription: verso, center, graphite: 3 x 7

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Purchase through the generosity of Richard and Ronay Menschel
Copyright
© Ralston Crawford Estate / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Accession Year
2001
Object Number
P2001.17
Division
Modern and Contemporary Art
Contact
am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • , checklist
  • Zabriskie Gallery, Six American Painters and the Photograph, brochure (New York, NY, 2001), repr.

Exhibition History

  • Six American Painters and the Photograph, Zabriskie Gallery, New York, 01/30/2001 - 03/17/2001
  • HAA 10 Survey Course: The Western Tradition, Art Since the Renaissance, Harvard University Art Museums, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 03/08/2008 - 04/06/2008
  • 32Q: 1110 Mid-Century Abstraction II (Post-Painterly Abstraction), Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 04/06/2016 - 10/13/2016

Related Works

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu