THE ART OF LIVING

What is it about a particular place that inspires you, that makes a lasting impression on you? We have all experienced a deep connection to a particular place – one that remains etched in our minds long after we leave. For the artists shown here, it was precisely that connection to a place that moved them to paint it – often repeatedly. Some sites are monumental, others are more private. All are remarkable.

The Artist: Reginald Marsh
The Site: Coney Island, New York City
Reginald Marsh repeatedly drew inspiration from New York City landmarks such as The Bowery and Times Square. When he began to paint Coney Island in the late ‘teens and early 1920s, it was still a largely “undiscovered” place in New York City; certainly not the highly popular tourist destination it is today. Figures on the Beach (1921) is an early example that previews what would become Marsh’s favorite subject in the 1930s and 1940s, and captures the New York landscape at a time of growth and opportunity.

The Artist: Henry Martin Gasser
The Site: New Jersey Harbors
A prolific American artist, Henry Martin Gasser lived and worked in New Jersey for his entire career. From its streets to its harbors, Gasser’s watercolors and paintings depict images of everyday life in the Garden State, making them both specific to a place and also universally appealing. He often exhausted a particular subject, re-creating it time and again with simple variations in order to fully explore its artistic potential. Harbor Scene immediately communicates the intrinsic sense of place that was so central to the artist’s work.

The Artist: Arturo Noci
The Site: Central Park, New York City
When exploring American subject matter, the Italian-born Arturo Noci offers the freshness and energy of a foreigner’s perspective. After completing his studies in Rome, Noci moved to New York and became known for urban landscapes in which he applied influences of French Impressionism and even Japanese art to create his decidedly modernist compositions. Central Park treats a subject that has been thoroughly explored by artists like Childe Hassam, George Bellows, and John Sloan and is one of the leading works by Noci to appear on the market.