Visions of a New York City that are not too far away. Only yesterday, really. Max Arthur Cohn, painter. Living from 1903 to 1998, he was born in England but painted in America. One of the artists employed by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s.

New York Street Scene. 1935. American. Oil on canvas. Max Arthur Cohn, painter (1903-1998). Signed MAX ARTHUR COHN on the lower right. Signed again and numbered 324 , dated and inscribed with the title on the stretcher. © Estate of the artist. Image © Bonhams 2001-2022. Fair use license. via https://www.bonhams.com/auction/27587/lot/35/max-arthur-cohn-1903-1998-new-york-street-scene-22-x-28-18-in-559-x-714-cm-painted-in-1935/

Washington Square. 1928. American. Oil on canvas. Max Arthur Cohn, painter (1903-1998). Signed MAX ARTHUR COHN on the lower left. © Estate of the artist. Image © Bonhams 2001-2022. Fair use license. via https://www.bonhams.com/auction/27587/lot/36/max-arthur-cohn-1903-1998-washington-square-20-18-x-24-18-in-511-x-613-cm-painted-in-1928/

New York City Scene. Undated, by 1998. American. Oil on canvasboard. Max Arthur Cohn, painter (1903-1998). Signed MAX ARTHUR COHN on the lower left. © Estate of the artist. Image © Bonhams 2001-2022. Fair use license. via https://www.bonhams.com/auction/27587/lot/37/max-arthur-cohn-1903-1998-new-york-city-scene-16-x-20-in-406-x-508-cm/
Featured

Family portraits by American painter Eastman Johnson. Living from 1824 to 1906 he studied art in Düsseldorf, The Hague and Paris. One of the founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Portrait of the Brown family. Based on a Matthew Brady photograph.  1869.
Portrait of the Brown family. Based on a Matthew Brady photograph. 1869. Collection of the de Young Museum, San Francisco. Cc0 license 1.0. via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portraits_(The_Brown_Family)_by_Eastman_Johnson,_1869,_oil_on_canvas,_based_on_a_Mathew_Brady_photograph_-_De_Young_Museum_-_DSC00950.JPG

Christmas Time: The Blodgett Family. 1864.
Christmas Time: The Blodgett Family. 1864. Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the public domain due to age. via https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11258

Alfrederick Hatch Family. 1870-1871.
Alfrederick Hatch Family. 1870-1871. Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the public domain. via https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11263

Terracotta tile detailing from when buildings were decked out within an inch of their concrete footed lives. A fashion I hope comes back. Maybe you do too. These all happening to from New York City.

Mural made for the Marine Grill around 1913. Now located in the Fulton Street/William Street subway station. Relocated in 2011.
Mural made for the Marine Grill around 1913. Now located in the Fulton Street/William Street subway station. Relocated in 2011. Fred Dana Marsh, artist. Image © New York City Transit. Fair use license. via http://web.mta.info/mta/aft/permanentart/permart.html?agency=n&line=J&station=22&artist=1&img=3&xdev=2400

Front facade medallion (restored).
Front facade medallion (restored). Made for Child’s Restaurant which has been repurposed as the Seaside Park and Community Arts Center, Coney Island, New York. Made in 1924. Contemporary restoration by Boston Valley Terracotta. Image © Boston Valley Terracotta. Fair use license. via https://bostonvalley.com/portfolio-item/seaside/

Mural (detail), Fred French building.
Mural (detail), Fred French building, New York City. ca. 1927. Recent restoration by Li/SaLtzman architects, P.C. Image/photo © Li/SaLtzman architects, P.C. Fair use license. via http://www.lisaltzman.com/preservation/preservation-planning/2011/06/26/fred-french-building/attachment/lsa-p-fredfrench-pic-2/

Guastavino Company tiles. These from New York State but the fireproof vaults and domes they were made into live in other places too. Started by Spanish immigrant Rafael Guastavino, the firm went on to greatness under his son of the same name. Much work in the subways but also at Ellis Island and the Cathedral church of Saint John the Divine.

Tile. 1920's-1930's.Buffalo City Hall, Buffalo, New York.
Tile. 1920’s-1930’s.Buffalo City Hall, Buffalo, New York. Image © buffaloah.com. Fair use license. via http://www.buffaloah.com/a/niagSq/65/lobby/source/21.html

Ancient coloring and styles of decoration applied to modern uses. Egyptian decoration.
Ancient coloring and styles of decoration applied to modern uses. Egyptian decoration. Plate used in the Decorator and Furnisher, Volume 2, Number 1, pages 16 to 17 which was published in April of 1883. Rafael Guastavino, Sr. maker. Image © Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. Fair use license. via https://tilesinnewyork.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-experimental-lustre-tiles-of-rafael.html

Two five inch square tiles made for the Dater residence.
Two five inch square tiles made for the Dater residence. Image © Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. Fair use license. via https://tilesinnewyork.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-experimental-lustre-tiles-of-rafael.html

Ancient styles and coloring of styles applied to modern uses. Moorish and Persian decorations.
Ancient styles and coloring of styles applied to modern uses. Moorish and Persian decorations. Plate in The Decorator and Furnisher, Volume 2, Number 5, Page 162 of the August 1883 issue. Rafael Guastavino, Sr. maker. Image © Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. Fair use license. via https://tilesinnewyork.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-experimental-lustre-tiles-of-rafael.html

An envisioning . . . 1935. . . December 31st at the best hairdresser in all of New York.

Oh to be here.

A big do, and every girl up and down Central Park West invited, at least all the ones that count.

A  new frock that looks like the Vionnet frock Mother brought back from Paris that time.

Well, not the same, Mme. Vionnet not designing much anymore and all of it for older ladies, not young ones. Newer designers and satin to look like someone in Hollywood but the same wine red color with nail lacquer to match.

The Saint Moritz tonight and more packing tomorrow. Beach house near Havana for half the winter and Key West for the rest. Maybe somewhere else after or maybe not.

Hard. A bit old for debutante things and the escorts that they have. Another few years and too much time on the shelf. College men at the dances at Cornell but none of them having stuck. But tonight. Maybe. Someone’s older cousin down from Harvard Law.

Men to spin around a ballroom with. . .men to partner for a party breakfast so late it could turn into a ride down a bridle path in Central Park . . .hopefully one for good soon.

Menu card for New Year's Eve in the Colonnades Ballroom, Essex House Hotel. 1935.
This menu card, from the Museum of the City of New Menu card for New Year’s Eve in the Colonnades Ballroom, Essex House Hotel, New York City. 1935. collection of the museum of the City of New York. via https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2018/12/31/a-swanky-new-years-menu-from-1935-new-york/