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 1219 58 in. (69.949.8 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
Publisher
Parasol Press, Ltd.
Date
1979
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
27 1219 58 in. (69.949.8 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

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.

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