Still New York [Hardcover]

Ric Burns (Author), Alan Feuer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2005

Virtuoso watercolorist Rick Brosen has been wandering the streets of New York City for most of his life. His paintings capture a city void of urban bustle and noise, a "still" New York in every sense of the word.

Brosen knows the city's hidden jewels-the elegant statues in vest-pocket West Side parks, the terra-cotta ornamentation on Harlem bow-front row houses, and the haunting emptiness of the surviving cast-iron market buildings along the Hudson. He also knows its major landmarks-the Statue of Liberty, Grand Central Station, and Ellis Island, to name but a few. Alongside Brosen's luminous paintings, best-selling author and award-winning documentary filmmaker Ric Burns and New York Times journalist Alan Feuer retrace the origins and growth of this ever-changing city from Tribeca and SoHo through Midtown and on to Central Park and up to the Cloisters, revealing-with Brosen's watercolors-its favorite places and hidden treasures.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Part travel guide, part coffee-table book, this volume presents a charming architectural record of neighborhoods up and down Manhattan. And it is indeed architecture that takes center stage, for in the dozens of precise and classically composed watercolors by Brosen reproduced here, there are almost no people at all. Brosen's obvious love for Romanesque marble, cast iron and other fancy details of bygone eras leads him to well-known sights such as the Flatiron building, the New York Public Library lions and the facade of the Grand Central Terminal, but he is equally drawn to humbler corners and alleys. He makes a quietly spectacular vista of a narrow, winding Chinatown street and revels in the severe, early morning beauty of a row of shuttered shops near the corner of Broome and the Bowery. An introduction by documentary filmmaker Burns offers overwrought praise for Brosen, while the essays by New York Times staff writer Feuer are full of salty stories of characters from the neighborhoods depicted. But the pictures themselves, and their deft little scene-setting captions, are the main attraction. No doubt this book will be enjoyed by New Yorkers who take a proprietary pleasure in the history and architecture of their city, but it also makes an excellent tour book for travelers seeking a deeper appreciation of the structures that sustain the city's bustling life. (Oct. 17)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Ric Burns is a lifelong New Yorker with a deep knowledge of the city's lore, traditions, and culture. His books and television productions include New York: An Illustrated History and The Civil War.

Alan Feuer has been a staff writer at the New York Times since 1999, working mostly for the Metropolitan desk. He recently published Over There, a book based on his stint covering the Iraq war for the Times.

Frederick Brosen is an artist with many solo and group exhibitions to his credit. His watercolors are in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of the City of New York, and the New-York Historical Society.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 136 pages
• Publisher: Vendome Press (October 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865651655
• ISBN-13: 978-0865651654
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 9.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,029,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sort of a Chris Van Allsburg feel, December 27, 2006

By 

oregonian (Kingston, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Still New York (Hardcover)

It's extremely well-executed photo realism with pencil + watercolor, and

the artist has chosen buildings/scenes which are architecturally strong

and visually rich so as to let his technique really shine. However, the

real strength, I think, is actually the artist's ability to impart a

dreamlike quality (reminiscent of children's book illustrator Chris Van

Allsburg). This elevates the book to a whole different, more evocative

level, so that you stop marveling at the technique and start thinking of

the subject matter itself. Anyone who loves New York should love this

book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful art, January 29, 2008

By 

JKJ (Midwestern USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Still New York (Hardcover)

I enjoyed this book very much, and will return to it over and over to enjoy the excellent reproductions of Brosen's highly realistic watercolors. His work is unique and compelling. I also enjoyed the artist's descriptions and information, given as picture captions, about the scenes he painted. There are also highly readable vignettes with each chapter, focussing on a local, long-term resident of the area of NYC that that chapter pictures. A fine read, but an even more beautiful LOOK.