The holdings of the New-York Historical Society Library are vast and fascinating. It is always fun to open a box of photos or unroll a set of drawings to discover something new. Recently, a researcher was working with the Printmaker File (PR 58), a collection of aquatints, engravings, etchings, lithographs, and woodcuts, representing work by over 200 artists dating from 1730 to the present. That’s how the delightful etchings of Albert E. Flanagan caught my eye.
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- Waterfront, New York, 1933
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- Morning Light, 1934
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- The Fountain, Central Park, 1933
Flanagan was born in Newark in 1884. He graduated from Columbia University’s School of Architecture in 1910 and worked at several firms over the course of his career, including McKim, Mead & White. He taught at Columbia and was one of the original members of the Society of American Etchers. His work is in the collections of several other museums and libraries, including the Metropolitan Museum and the Library of Congress. He died in New York City in 1969.
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- Plaza Group – Towers of Manhattan, 1930. The two buildings at center are the Sherry-Netherland Hotel and former Savoy-Plaza Hotel, which was demolished in 1965 to allow for construction of the present General Motors Building.
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- Jacob Street, New York, 1931. All the buildings on this street were razed in the mid 1960s and the street itself became part of the Southbridge Towers apartment complex. (Of interest to Bob Dylan fans: Jacob Street was the site of his photo shoot for the cover of the July 30, 1966 edition of the Saturday Evening Post and the 45 RPM release of “I Want You.”)
The detail in Flanagan’s etchings is what is most appealing. It is interesting to consider the time at which they were made, during what many have since referred to as a ten-year hangover from the Roaring ’20s. Though they depict a busy city in the throes of a financial crisis, a city subject to all manner of Modernist movements, and one on the brink of another war, there is a quiet aspect to them that suggests tranquility — a calm response to chaos.
This post is by Jill Reichenbach, Reference Librarian, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections.
Kudos to NYHS and Jill Reichenbach for once again exposing a hidden treasure to the light of day. It is marvelous to learn about Flanagan and receive a taste of his unique works. An example of capturing chaotic times through a calm lens is as timely as every.
Albrrt Flanagan was a good friend of my father- in- law. Otto F. Langmann who was also an architect and artist who did a number of renderings for the firm he was associated with, Hobart Upjohn. I believe that you may also have some his drawings in your collection. Otto Langmann designed the Universalist Church at Lexington Avenue and 80th st. In New York as well as a number college buildings. Mr. Flanagan was a very nice man as well as a fine artist. While we have 6 of Mr. Flanagan’s New York etchings hanging on our hallway wall, I had no idea as to the depth and breadth of his work until I saw your excellent display of his work. My compliments to you