The Storm – Old Chelsea District, N.Y.

Grace Albee, The Storm--Old Chelsea District, N.Y., 1946, wood engraving on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Betty Minor Duffy, 1976.83
Copied Grace Albee, The Storm--Old Chelsea District, N.Y., 1946, wood engraving on paper, sheet: 7 1⁄2 × 8 5⁄8 in. (19.1 × 21.9 cm) image: 4 5⁄8 × 5 7⁄8 in. (11.7 × 14.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Betty Minor Duffy, 1976.83

Artwork Details

Title
The Storm – Old Chelsea District, N.Y.
Artist
Date
1946
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 7 1⁄2 × 8 5⁄8 in. (19.1 × 21.9 cm) image: 4 5⁄8 × 5 7⁄8 in. (11.7 × 14.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Betty Minor Duffy
Mediums Description
wood engraving on paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Cityscape — weather — snow
  • Cityscape — weather — storm
  • Cityscape — New York — Chelsea
  • Cityscape — New York — New York
Object Number
1976.83
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1976.83

Artwork Description

At a young age, Grace Albee discovered her interest in illustration through etchings in her grandfather's books. She later studied printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design and became an expert in wood engraving, in which the artist carves on the hard end grain of her block with an engraver's burin. The technique requires extreme control but can produce exceptionally fine detail, as seen in this view looking north from Albee's studio window in the historic Hotel Chelsea, a longtime favorite residence in New York for artists, writers, and musicians. She completed this print in 1946, the same year she became the first female graphic artist elected a full member to the National Academy of Design.