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"New York Nocturne", 1945, lithograph, 252x431mm; 9 15/16" x 16 15/16", full margins. Edition 85. Pencil signed, lower right margin. In very good condition [Stuckey 146].
Stow Wengenroth (1906-1978) was a master of lithography, working in black and white on stones polished not to satiny smoothness, but left with a subtle graininess of texture. He used his lithographic genius to express the substance and essence of landscape. His drawing skill and unique expression was the result of his exacting inquiry into every detail of the lithographic process. "New York Nocturne" is one of his greatest works, notable for its three-dimensional effect, texture and tonal values. The background of well-known buildings instills a sense of reality within the scene. Technique gives way to emotional intensity in the haunting expression of the dramatic panorama.
Manhattan and Brooklyn were the subjects of a number of Wengenroth's prints. These lithographs reveal his versatility and breadth of perspective in finding unusual and powerful points of view. Some are night scenes. The New York prints possess vastness of scale, but are executed with as much detail and involvement as his landscapes. There is some element of the disquietude of Edward Hooper's work in Wengenroth's "New York Nocturne". Here, in this February 1945 image, is a glimpse of New York, forward and backward and never to be seen again.
Wengenroth's "New York Nocturne" is in a 24 7/8" x 31 5/8" Larson-Juhl burnished ebony inner panel with inner and outer gilded silver lip frame. The wood fillet echoes the frame. The outer Monet Lilly and cream 4-ply inner mats are acid and lignin free and are protected with Acrylite-AR OP3 (UV) by CYRO ........ $12,000.00
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