East River Park

William Glackens

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Object Label

William Glackens found ample subject matter in the parks of New York and the city dwellers who frequented them. Here he depicted the natural features of the East River Park, and the pastimes of its inhabitants, in sharp contrast to the bustling industrial setting of Brooklyn's waterfront visible across the water. For the many immigrants living in small, cramped quarters, the urban parks of Brooklyn and Manhattan served as a refuge from the poor conditions and overcrowding of tenement life.

Caption

William Glackens American, 1870–1938. East River Park, ca. 1902. Oil on canvas, 25 7/8 x 32in. (65.7 x 81.3cm) frame: 36 1/2 x 42 5/8 x 3 in. (92.7 x 108.3 x 7.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 41.1085. No known copyright restrictions (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 41.1085_SL1.jpg)

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

American Art

Title

East River Park

Date

ca. 1902

Medium

Oil on canvas

Classification

Painting

Dimensions

25 7/8 x 32in. (65.7 x 81.3cm) frame: 36 1/2 x 42 5/8 x 3 in. (92.7 x 108.3 x 7.6 cm)

Signatures

Signed lower left: "W. Glackens"

Credit Line

Dick S. Ramsay Fund

Accession Number

41.1085

Rights

No known copyright restrictions

This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

Frequent Art Questions

  • The label for this says Brooklyn waterfront is across. do you know where? Or is any of the businesses depicted here are still standing or in operation?

    This painting depicts the OLD East River Park, which is now called "Carl Schurz Park."
    Oh. Where's that?
    It's located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. If you looked out over the East River from this point today, you'd see Astoria, Queens. I used to live right in that area! You'd see brick apartment buildings and some warehouses from this vantage point.
    Carl Schurz Park is located along FDR Drive in Manhattan, adjacent to the tip of Roosevelt Island.
    Oh, I think I know it.
    Most, if not all, of the buildings you see in this painting are long gone. There isn't much industry in the Astoria area any more as it has become quite residential.
    Fun Fact: Carl Schurz Park is located near Gracie Mansion, where the mayor lives.

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