Artist Ralph Fasanella (1914 - 1997)

Christopher Street #1

Date1946

DimensionsSight: 17 5/8 × 23 5/8 in. (44.8 × 60 cm)

Object numberN0012.2012

Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of Jane Ferrara, in memory of Ronald A. Ferrara

Photograph by Richard Walker

Label TextRalph Fasaenlla was especially observant. Not only did he notice objects, but he could also convey an attitude or tone of an area with his art. The colors, patterns, and figures waiting on the subway platform give this painting an eerie undertone. As a child, Ralph Fasanella was caught for petty theft and sentenced to attend Catholic Reform School. There, he was taught about heaven and hell, and although he was never religious, he employed visions gleaned from religious training in his art. The red and black colors that dominate this painting were most likely influenced by Fasanella’s vision of an urban hell. As New Yorkers and the rest of the world were recovering after WWII, Ralph shows the lack of community that developed. Just as one would fear hell, Ralph feared an impersonal city more than anything. For him, it would be a torturous place
to live.

BibliographyPaul S. D'Ambrosio, "Ralph Fasanella's America." Cooperstown: New York State Historical Association, 2001, page 49.

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