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Times Square at Night

A work made of gelatin silver print.

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  • A work made of gelatin silver print.

Date:

1932

Artist:

Photographer unknown

About this artwork

Scrawled on the back of this photograph are the words, Times Square NY at night the way it looks after you have looked around a while at lights and signs. Multiple, overlaid images of glowing advertisements evoke the exhilaration with which electric illumination was greeted in the early twentieth century. With no indication of ground or scale, the lights overwhelm the senses, transforming the city into a phantasmagoric space akin to the world of movies and variety shows. This similarity is underscored in the unknown photographer’s fascination with the marquees of dance halls like the Chinese-American club Chin Lee and of Hollywood hits like Strange Interlude.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Photography and Media

Artist

Unknown (Photographer)

Title

Times Square at Night

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1932

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Dimensions

Image/paper: 25.3 × 20.5 cm (10 × 8 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Ada Turnbull Hertle Fund; Wirt D. Walker Trust; Gladys N. Anderson, the Mary and Leigh Block Endowment, and Centennial Major Acquisitions Income funds; partial gift of Herbert and Barbara Molderings

Reference Number

2016.234

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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