Big Diamonds, from the portfolio Urban Landscapes No. 2

Richard Estes, Big Diamonds, from the portfolio Urban Landscapes No. 2, 1979, screenprint on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jerome Canter, 1998.142.2.5, © 1978, Richard Estes
Richard Estes, Big Diamonds, from the portfolio Urban Landscapes No. 2, 1979, screenprint on paper, 27 1⁄2 x 19 5⁄8 in. (69.9 x 49.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jerome Canter, 1998.142.2.5, © 1978, Richard Estes

Artwork Details

Title
Big Diamonds, from the portfolio Urban Landscapes No. 2
Artist
Printer
Publisher
Parasol Press, Ltd.
Date
1979
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
27 1⁄2 x 19 5⁄8 in. (69.9 x 49.8 cm)
Copyright
© 1978, Richard Estes
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jerome Canter
Mediums Description
screenprint on paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Object — other — sign
  • Architecture Exterior — detail — window
  • Architecture Exterior — commercial
Object Number
1998.142.2.5
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1998.142.2.5

Artwork Description

Richard Estes moved to New York City in 1959 and worked first as a commercial graphic designer to support his art-making ambitions. After struggling to find models available in the evenings, he adopted the vernacular architectural details of the city, everyday spaces like shops, escalators, and subways, as his subject matter. Based on photographs he made wandering the city, Estes composed hyperrealistic paintings, as well as a trio of screenprint portfolios called Urban Landscapes. Typical of the series, this print meticulously captures a clothing store, whose glossy windows reflect nearby buildings, cars, and advertisements, including a jewelry store offering "Big Diamonds." Such jumbles of reflections invite viewers to consider the potentially alienating and dehumanizing landscape of the city, with layers of inaccessible and illusory spaces.

Works by this artist (10 items)

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Albert Sterner, Henry Wolf, Mrs. Marie Sterner, 1899, wood engraving on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1973.130.170
Mrs. Marie Sterner
Artist
Date1899
wood engraving on paper
Not on view
Albert Sterner, The Stranger, 1916, lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1983.4
The Stranger
Artist
Date1916
lithograph on paper
Not on view
Albert Sterner, Washington Prevents a Military Dictatorship, n.d., pen and ink, charcoal and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Brook, 1983.75.58
Washington Prevents a Military Dictatorship
Artist
Daten.d.
pen and ink, charcoal and pencil on paper
Not on view
Albert Sterner, Washington Prevents a Military Dictatorship (cancelled plate from the portfolio "The Bicentennial Pageant of George Washington"), ca. 1932, etching from cancelled plate on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Brook, 1983.75.35
Washington Prevents a Military Dictatorship (cancelled…
Artist
Dateca. 1932
etching from cancelled plate on paper
Not on view

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