Manhattan I (Stone 2)

1951

Manhattan I (Stone 2), 1951. Lyonel Feininger (American, 1871–1956). Lithograph; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1952.33 © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Lyonel Feininger spent much of his life in Europe, where he discovered the Cubism of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. The flattened, interlocking geometric planes of these artists’ work (examples of which are on view nearby) deeply influenced the hundreds of prints he made in the following decades. Facing growing persecution from the Nazis, Feininger fled Germany and returned to New York, his birthplace, in 1937. There, he made numerous abstract cityscapes punctuated by skyscrapers. Feininger contrasted fine lines with gradated areas of tone to enhance the impact of the massive central building. This print is one of a series of works, including paintings, prints, and drawings, in which Lyonel Feininger depicted Manhattan.