1900

Manhattan: 5th Avenue - 49th Street

A Set of Seven Canvases of Old New York These paintings come from a country house called 'Glencairn' near Dublin in Ireland, where they adorned the walls of the billiard room. The house was built by Richard 'Boss' Croker (1841-1922), an Irishman who for many years was associated with Tammany Hall in New York, holding political positions under William M. 'Boss' Tweed, and later, after the latter's ousting, under 'Honest John' Kelly. Following the Lexow Committee investigations (1889-90), he left for England where he took up residence in Wantage, Berks, returning to America periodically, attempting to regain his lost position in the Democratic Party. After his final defeat in 1900, he crossed the Atlantic once again, built 'Glencairn' and started a racing stable. Despite his past reputation (he paid, in all, $550,000 for his Irish estates), he lived up to the high standards demanded by British racing circles, and when his horse Orby won the Derby in 1907, did not even back him. These pictures were painted to remind him of New York, and it is assumed that they were executed here around the turn of the century. All are painted in tones of sepia and green. The British Government has recently acquired this mansion for the use of the British Ambassador to Ireland. PARKE-BERET Sale 2234, Nov. 29-30, 1963 363. FIFTH AVENUE: PAIR PAINTINGS One showing St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Democratic Club; and the other the town houses of the Avenue in the East Seventies. Both with vehicles and fashionably dressed people in the street. (British Government) 64 1/2 x 35 1/2 and 64 1/2 x 39 3/4 inches

Photo from the New York Public Library - Milstein Collection