Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Arthur Getz in Washington Square Park

A painting of the Washington Square Arch by Arthur Getz comes out of the estate of film critic Judith Crist. It was recently listed on eBay. The eBay seller identified the medium as oil or acrylic, but more likely it's watercolor or gouache and ink. The seller also hopefully raised the possibility that it could be an original New Yorker cover, but it clearly isn't. In fact, the NYU T-shirt in the foreground gives it away. This illustration appeared on the cover of the New York University Bulletin from the summer of 1979.

Arthur Getz, Original art, New York University Bulletin, Summer 1979

Arthur Getz's signature

Arthur Getz's signature

The T-shirt reads NYU Summer '79. That should be clue enough to where this was published.

Detail





Arthur Getz, Original art, New York University Bulletin, Summer 1979


EBay Listing as of September 29, 2015

eBay Item Description



Arthur Getz, Original art, New York University Bulletin, Summer 1979
[End of eBay listing]

Here's the published catalogue:
Arthur Getz, New York University Bulletin, Summer 1979
Scan courtesy of Sarah Getz, updated May 9, 2018


And here's a preliminary version of the artwork:
Arthur Getz, Preliminary art, New York University Bulletin, Summer 1979
Photo courtesy of Sarah Getz

Arthur Getz had also illustrated this NYU Bulletin in the previous summer. Then the view of Washington Square Park was observed from a higher vantage point. The view to the south showed the Washington Arch and lower Manhattan. Note also the Brooklyn Bridge and the World Trade Center.


Arthur Getz, New York University Bulletin, Summer 1978
Photo courtesy of Sarah Getz


December 25, 2015 Update: The seller has updated the listing to reflect the correct publication history that appears in this post. He has not gone so far as to correct the medium used or the spelling of film critic Judith Crist's name.



Note:  Much thanks once again to Sarah Getz for her photographs and knowledgable assistance. Learn more about Arthur Getz's artwork at getzart.com.

Past blog posts about Arthur Getz are just a click away.

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6 comments:

  1. Hello,
    Great post, I found this painting in an auction and afer read your article I couldn't resist it and I bought it, it's a beautifull image.
    Do you know if it's possible to get the New York University Bulletin from the summer of 1979?, or a better scanned image of it?.
    Thank you very much

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's difficult to find a copy of the New York University Bulletin from the summer of 1979, although I believe a persistent search would eventually pay off. Sarah Getz might be able to provide a high-resolution scan.

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    2. Hi, Thank you very much for the answer.
      Yes, it's difficult yo find, I've been searching but no luck for now.
      Kind regards

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    3. I have updated this post with a new scan graciously provided by Sarah Getz.

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    4. Hi,
      Thank you very much for the new scan.
      I'll keep it and put it near the original painting.
      Kind regards

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