Pennsylvania Station, New York

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Pennsylvania Station, New York

Artist Karl Struss (American, 1886-1981)

Date1911

Dimensions12 1/4 x 19 1/2 in. (31 x 24.2 cm)

MediumPlatinum print

ClassificationPhotographs

Credit LinePurchased with funds given by an anonymous donor

Object number

1979.52

Not on View

Label TextWhen he passed away in 1981, Karl Struss was the last-known surviving member of Alfred Steiglitz’s Photo-Secession group. Unfortunately, although Stuss’s work as a cinematographer (on such silent films as Ben Hur, Sunrise, and Drums of Love) has long been admired, his contribution as a still photographer and member of the Photo-Secession was generally ignored. This image of the 1910 Beaux-Arts-style Pennsylvania Station designed by McKim, Mead, and White is a classic example of the soft-focus ‘picturesque’ style favored by the Photo-Secession artists. While Pennsylvania Station still exists, serving 300,000 passengers a day, the grand above-ground structure depicted here has been replaced, in part, by Madison Square Garden.Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, Refraction/Reflection, Apr. 20-Sept. 2, 2012.

Toledo Museum of Art, George Bellows and New York, 1900-1930, Feb. 14 - Apr. 21, 2013 (gallery 18, University of Michigan student show).