Architecture, Gardens, New York, Bronx, Botanical Garden, Watercolor, 1949

Ed Swann
New York Botanical Garden
American: 1949
Gouache on illustration board
Signed in trees lower left: ED SWANN ’49
11 x 15 inches, overall
11 x 14 inches, image
$975

Original bird’s-eye painting of the New York Botanical Garden, featuring the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Designed by Lord & Burnham and constructed beginning in 1899, it is widely considered the greatest Victorian glasshouse in the United States and was designated a New York City landmark in 1973. The painting is executed in vibrant colors and an illustration-art style typical of the mid 20th century. It is packed with affectionate and picturesque detail of the activities of park visitors: a man restrains a dog on a leash from chasing a squirrel, a man repairs a glass panel on the great domed greenhouse roof, boys spray water from the water fountain at each other, another dog cools off under the spray from a hole in a garden hose, nuns shepherd a group of schoolchildren, an artist works on a painting of the greenhouse, and a photographer takes a family portrait.

Reference:

“New York City’s Own Award Winning Crystal Palace, Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.” New York Botanical Garden. http://www.nybg.org/events/worldpl.html (19 March 2003).