Touches of interpretive vision come forth from the painting brushes of Guy Wiggins and are noticeable in this nice work of New York City. From a waterborne view off the East River, the architectural majesty of "the Big Apple" is the highlight of this smaller scale work which possesses several outstanding features.
Painted in the first decade of the 20th Century, an era many consider Guy Wiggins' best period, it is a fine dichotomy of the largest of subjects - the world's first skyscraper, the Singer Building, completed in 1908 - on a small canvas-covered artist board. Likewise, a New York tug boat is prominent and active, while the larger passenger steamers are diminutive at their pierside births, just beginning to bring up a head of steam. With no snow present, there is still something of Wiggins' repertoire of cold New York winters in this landscape setting.
The overall mood echoes the arrival of the new Industrial Age in America, where not only machines, but corporate identity and advertising would come forth to lead the world. Wiggins sets himself apart, and his art is layered with levels of interesting features of the river, city and sky.
