Lot Essay
A native New Yorker, Samuel Woolf's subjects came from two realms of existence. As a society portrait painter of personalities such as Babe Ruth, Albert Einstein and Eugene O'Neill, his orientation and technique reflected traditional canons of the Art Students' League.
However, another side to Woolf's art developed from his desire to record and document life around him. By the second decade of the twentieth century, New York's Lower East Side had become a melting pot of immigrant culture. Woolf became infatuated with the vibrant urban activity of this neighborhood and painted its pedestrian vendors, ethnic crowds, and shop facades, very much in the tradition of The Eight. These scenes, along with his portraits, were shown in annual exhibitions at the National Academy of Design between 1901 and 1941. This painting was executed circa 1914.
However, another side to Woolf's art developed from his desire to record and document life around him. By the second decade of the twentieth century, New York's Lower East Side had become a melting pot of immigrant culture. Woolf became infatuated with the vibrant urban activity of this neighborhood and painted its pedestrian vendors, ethnic crowds, and shop facades, very much in the tradition of The Eight. These scenes, along with his portraits, were shown in annual exhibitions at the National Academy of Design between 1901 and 1941. This painting was executed circa 1914.