North on Broadway from Trinity Church
1900
graphite
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
About the artist
1900
graphite
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
North on Broadway from Trinity Church is a 1900 graphite by Stanford White, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a tall, narrow city street lined with buildings. The left side has a long, skinny tower with lots of windows stacked high. On the right, a dark, shadowy shape cuts across the scene, maybe a tree or a flagpole. The buildings in the middle have ornate details and balconies, but they’re drawn quickly, almost like scribbles. The artist used light gray lines on blue-gray paper, which makes the sketch look soft and sketchy. The dark shape on the right stands out because it’s the only thing that’s fully black. Try looking up chiaroscuro to see how artists use light and shadow like this.
