Sheridan Square

Mira--Sheridan Square@2x.jpg

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Title

Description

Oil painting of Greenich Village nightlife location dismissed by a Federal Writers Project description as "an uninteresting hodgepodge of buildings of varying sizes and ages, suggesting little of the charm that lies beyond its limits." In 1982, a small park was incorporated into this space.

About the Artist: Born in Italy, Mira immigrated to the US in 1904. He attended the Art Students League, the Beaux Arts School, and the National Academy of Design, where he studied with Ivan Olinsky; his works were exhibited at several Corcoran Museum biennials. As a young man of twenty-two, Mira and a fellow artist named Joseph Perna planned to hitchhike across the United States, painting pictures as they went. They paused in Gettysburg, PA, to paint several battlefield landscapes (Gettysburg Times 10 June 1922: 2), and then Mira was invited by one driver to paint a portrait of his parents in Detroit. “After a few months,” Mira recollected, “I became so absorbed in my work that I had completely forgotten about California. By this time my companion had become homesick and he induced me to return with him.” Returning to New York, Mira was best known for his cityscapes of lower Manhattan and capturing “the way busy people see it...None of those breath-taking shots cameramen contrive of towers and infinity, which no New Yorker sees in actuality” (Los Angeles Times 31 Jan. 1943: 35). 18 more images at The Athenaeum. 2 more images at FAP.

Sources Consulted: Archives of askART, including information courtesy of Brian Roughton Galleries.

Creator

Mira, Alfred S., 1900-1981

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Type

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Photograph of oil painting

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