For those of you who still cherish “hand-made” architectural drawings, there is a small jewel of an exhibition to be enjoyed at the Victoria Munroe Fine Art gallery on view through July 12.
The show spans a broad range of studies, plans, and designs as well as land surveys from the 18th through the 20th century. The majority of the drawings of gardens are elegant Italianate designs primarily by French hands. One Hugh Ferris study of the Scientific American building (24W 40th Street) is a standout, looking positively expressionist next to the crisp detailing of the earlier works. Perhaps the most beautiful are the engineering plan details, by Jules-Germain Olivier. In his “Details de la Ferme” (1905) executed in watercolor, the disposition of the parts across the page, delicately rendered, makes the drawing seem contemporary, resembling a Walter Pichler in its minimal descriptive sensibility. His Racetrack Field House presents a more traditional 19th-century rendering of a classical plan with a nod to Chinese detail. Set against the more sophisticated images is the Lyver Land Survey from 1779, map-like in its structure but with a flair for the decorative.
Architecture & Gardens: 18th, 19th and Early 20th Century Works on Paper
May 7–July 12, 2019
Victoria Munroe Fine Art
67 East 80th Street #2
New York, NY 10075
