New York Archival Prints
100% Archival - Restored - Enhanced - Framed
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This spectacular restoration by New York Archival Prints, of the classic Currier and Ives hand colored 1862 lithograph "Central-Park, Winter. The Skating Pond", is the only known archival quality, high resolution, full color restoration available. It is now being offered in large format, custom printed and custom framed Fine Art Prints.
An original lithograph of "Central-Park, Winter. The Skating Pond"
was part of Dick Button's personal collection.
It was after viewing Dick Button's original lithograph, at the Fenimore Art Museum's "The Art of Skating" exhibition in 2017, that New York Archival Prints decided to fully restore an original lithograph and to offer it as large format, 100% archival quality, Fine Art Framed Prints.
Purchase: Central-Park, Winter. The Skating Pond - 1862
From the Museum of the City of New York:
Skating has been a popular winter pastime with New Yorkers since the Dutch introduced the sport in New Amsterdam in the early sixteenth century. Plans for skating areas were incorporated in the original design for Central Park, and on a wintry day in 1858, even before the lake was completed, a little water was let in so that skating could begin. After the lake's completion, skating became a favorite leisure activity.
A newspaper in January, 1859, reported that the new rink in Central Park is "quite a fashionable resort for skaters" and many hundreds are enjoying the exercise daily. An annual report of the park stated: "It is undeniable, that the concentration of such numbers of pleasure-seekers upon the little space of twenty acres, while it imposes some restraint upon the skaters, and calls for constant exercise of skill to avoid collisions, adds vastly to the general gayety, and thus causes an excitement of healthful hilarity .... None of the various exhibitions of crowded life of this metropolis are more interesting, or can be viewed with more unmingled satisfaction than the skating scene upon the park."
This 1862 lithograph from the work of Charles Parsons could well have been used to illustrate the description in the annual report. In addition, almost every type of citizen is depicted in this colorful and fun-packed vista. This has always been one of the favorites of all Currier & Ives prints.
Notes:
Bow Bridge, on The Lake, is near the W 72nd Street entrance (The Woman’s Gate) off Central Park West.
The John Lennon Memorial, Strawberry Fields is also in Central Park at this location.
The Dakota was built in 1884 on the corner of W 72nd St and Central Park West. The view of Bow Bridge and The Lake can still be seen from its windows.
The building behind Bow Bridge is The Arsenal, in Central Park, at E 64th Street off Fifth Ave. It was built in 1851 as a storehouse for arms and ammunition for the New York State Militia. The building still stands today and is currently the offices of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
Central-Park, Winter. The Skating Pond.
Central-Park, Winter. The Skating Pond
New York, Published by Currier & Ives, 152 Nassau St