Kerr Eby (1889-1946)
No. 1 Wall Street
American: 1930
Etching
Titled in pencil lower left
Proof before signature or edition numbers
Plate mark: 16 x 10 1/2"
Sheet size: 19 x 12 3/4"

Etching of the construction of No. 1 Wall Street, the former Irving Trust Company headquarters, at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway in Lower Manhattan. Construction workers are active in the foreground, while in the background smoke and dust rise from the site partially obscuring Trinity Church. This depiction of atmospheric effects is characteristic of Eby's work. The print was published in an edition of 90 (though the offered one is a proof before signature in addition to the 90). Examples of the print are in a number of major museum collections including the National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Georgetown University Library, New York Historical Society and New York Public Library.

Kerr Eby was an American etcher and printmaker born in Tokyo, Japan, though he spent his artistic career in the New York and New England region of the U.S. His subject matter included urban, rural and maritime landscapes. His works have a lyrical quality emphasizing the subtle tonal qualities of light affected by water and atmosphere. He was recognized during his lifetime by prestigious arts organizations, becoming an associate of the National Academy of Design in 1930 and an academician in 1934, and a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, which was limited to 250 members. He was a member of the Society of American Etchers and the Chicago and Philadelphia Societies of Etchers as well. The New York Public Library has a complete collection of his work to 1932. He was also included in Prints of the Year (1931); and The Bicentennial Pageant of George Washington, a suite of 20 etchings, each by a different artist, depicting scenes from Washington's life (1932). Eby was closely associated with the artist Childe Hassam, assisting him with his etchings; Hassam made an etching depicting Eby's studio.

References:

Falk, Peter Hastings, ed. Who Was Who in American Art. Madison, Connecticut: Sound View Press, 1985. p. 181.

"Printmakers A to Z: Selections from Georgetown's Collections." GeorgetownUniversity Library. Summer-Fall 2000.

http://www.library.georgetown.edU/dept/speccoll/prints/printsA2Z.htm#eby (9 October 2006).