South Street Seaport
1993
This painting shows a lively and bustling area populated by tourists, families, and financial district signs. The Titanic Memorial Lighthouse, which had stood on top of the Seamen's Church from 1913 to 1968 is the center of the painting, the South Street Seaport Museum block is to the left, and to the right, the entrance to the festive marketplace leads to the South Street Seaport Museum's ships.
The Flag Day Parade, which is celebrated in this painting, takes place every June 14th. Sponsored by The Sons of The Revolution in The State of New York and the Downtown Lower Manhattan Association, the parade is held to commemorate the Congressional Resolution of June 1777, which established the basic design of the stars and stripes.
Where to begin, how to explain this exiting area to people who had never been there? I envisioned so many angles, so many different times of the day, and finally let the painting tell me what to do while I worked. And so I began by sitting in the spot in the middle of the actions, and putting in as many of the people as the canvas was willing to hold.
This area is not only a part of the earliest period of New York history, it a wonderful spot in which to spend a day of pleasure. Shopping features more than 120 shops, cafes and restaurants, and when I sat down to work in some of the outdoor spots, birds would land on my table and I would share parts of my scone with them.
When I think of my time on this painting, it is of sunshine, of peaceful sounds and friendly people, and yet a feeling of this country’s earliest history.