Big Diamonds, from the portfolio Urban Landscapes No. 2

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: Richard Estes
Printer: Michael Domberger
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: Graphic Arts
Print
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.