59th and Fifth
Date1931
CultureAmerican
Mediumlift-ground and aquatint
DimensionsSight: 8 3/4 x 11 3/8 in. (22.2 x 28.9 cm)
Sheet: 10 3/4 x 13 3/8 in. (27.3 x 34 cm)
ClassificationsVisual Works
Credit LineGift of Dr. Philip Samet
Object number66.128.086
DescriptionBy the 1840s, Manhattan Island had become so overcrowded that it was decided there was a need for an open recreational space. In 1856 architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a contest to design a park; from their collaboration Central Park was created. The 100-plus acre park, bordered on its East side by Fifth Avenue, com-mencing north from 59th Street, incorporated hills, rocky mounds, huge trees, brooks, and lakes in order to provide an oasis of nature within a city gridlocked by cement, stone, and brick. Beyond the grassy expanse of the work's viewpoint, we glimpse the elegant apartment buildings, fashionable retail stores, and luxurious hotels (The Plaza, for one), that lie in close proximity. Typically, the corner of Central Park at 59th Street and Fifth Avenue draws throngs of people on weekends.
