Stairway to the Studio
Charles Sheeler, American, 1883 - 1965
Geography:
Made in New York, New York, United States, North and Central America
Date:
1924Medium:
Black fabricated chalk and matte opaque paint (possibly casein) on laid paperDimensions:
Sheet: 25 3/8 x 19 3/4 inches (64.5 x 50.2 cm)Copyright:
Research inconclusive. Copyright may apply.Curatorial Department:
Prints, Drawings, and PhotographsObject Location:
1985-59-1Credit Line:
Bequest of Mrs. Earl Horter in memory of her husband, 1985
Made in New York, New York, United States, North and Central America
Date:
1924Medium:
Black fabricated chalk and matte opaque paint (possibly casein) on laid paperDimensions:
Sheet: 25 3/8 x 19 3/4 inches (64.5 x 50.2 cm)Copyright:
Research inconclusive. Copyright may apply.Curatorial Department:
Prints, Drawings, and PhotographsObject Location:
Currently not on view
Accession Number:1985-59-1Credit Line:
Bequest of Mrs. Earl Horter in memory of her husband, 1985
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drawing [x] painting [x] perspective [x] picket fence [x] staircase [x] steps [x]Empty hallways and endless staircases were favorite subjects of Sheeler, although he denied that his fascination with these Surrealist motifs owed anything to the images of that artistic movement. In this most austere of his stairway compositions, we are faced with stark contradictions between plunging perspective and abstract surface pattern, and between matter-of-fact realism and the haunting loneliness of the stairway climbing to infinity. This particular staircase led to Sheeler's studio above the Whitney Studio Club on West Eighth Street in New York.