Ninth Avenue Elevated
Authors: Jeanette M. Smith
Journal: JAMA (2014)

To the casual observer, a quick peek at the pictures of industrial edifices painted by Ralston Crawford (1906-1978) might bring to mind an imaginary enclave made of LEGO bricks. To some, the works may seem a bit lacking in romance, but this perception would be at odds with Crawford’s sense of his work: “I suppose one of the reasons for the severity of some of my paintings,” he later remarked, “is that I am in many respects an incurable romantic. ... I am long on feeling, and a lot of discipline—or steering of that feeling—is necessary.” (Haskell B. Ralston Crawford. New York, NY; Whitney Museum of American Art; 1985:14.) Crawford was born in Ontario, Canada. His father, a ship captain, conveyed cargoes of coal andwheat to points on the Great Lakes. It seems likely that an early impression of docks andgrainelevatorswasabasis forhis son’s revisiting theseelements as a painter. The family moved to Buffalo, New York, whereCrawforddemonstrated ability in art inhigh school.He had planned to attend the Pratt Institute in New York to pursue commercial illustration, but as the classes had filled, he opted instead for work as a seaman on the ship La Perla. During reflective moments at sea, Crawford became less enamoredof themore commercial aspects of art.LaPerla traversed the Panama Canal to Los Angeles, where he would attend Otis Art Institute, which proved to be a felicitous introduction to fine art. On a different front, although it wasn’t exactly da Vinci caliber art, he was able to work on a Disney animation film. In 1927, he would seriously embark on a career inartbyenrolling in thePennsylvaniaAcademyof theFine Arts, where his mentality clicked with modernist influences that included teacher Hugh Breckenridge. Atimeof transformationforCrawfordwouldoccur inPennsylvaniawithhis exposure to art collectionsbyEarlHorter and Dr Albert Barnes. Horter’s collection includedwork by Charles Sheeler and Charles Demuth, both associated with Precisionism,with its definition of formand inclusion of industrial subjects. Dr Barnes’ collection included works by Cezanne. “Crawford recalled being mesmerized for hours in front of Cezanne’s paintings, seeing in themthekindof control and solidityhewouldsoonseekinhisownwork.HeadmiredCezanne’s employment of Impressionist color in the service of structure and his insistence that it function as the building block of form. ... Cezanne’s reduction of architectural forms to planes and volumes...was a revelation to Crawford.” (Haskell, p 16.) In 1931, Crawford was living in New York in impoverishment, but a group exhibition in that year led to a purchase of one of his works on opening day. Another boost would occur with his marriage in 1932. On a trip to Europe, a gift from his father-in-law to the newlyweds, Crawford attended to an extent theAcademieColarossi andAcademieScandinave inParis. Returning toNewYork, he attendedTeachersCollege, Columbia University, in a quest for a source of financial stability. He wouldcontinue to refinehispersonal style inpainting,dubbed “Cezannesque structuralism.” (Haskell, p 25.) In Ninth Avenue Elevated, warm terracotta-toned buildings in a sunlit cityscape are bounded by street and sidewalk and banded by a ribbon of elevated railway. The curvature of the jaunty green cylindrical structure rising from the roof offers a respite fromtheunrelenting rectilinearplanes.Theclean lines andperspectivegradients arevisually appealingandconvey balance and order. Crawford’s evolution toward abstractionwith diminution of detail is eminently evident. This panorama of the bones of business may have been intended to render a takeaway message reassuring to the citizens of that era; ie, the United States is thriving and energeticallymoving forward. The ninth avenue “el” was constructed in the latter 1800s and has historical significance in its early role in innovation to improve city transportation. Crawford was rewardedwith applause for his work Overseas Highway (1939). On the home front, however, his marriage was dissolving. Economic imperatives led him to take teachingpositions, andhewouldmarry again in 1942.Drafted in the same year, he servedwith theVisual PresentationUnit, Weather Division, during which he translated meteorologic data to a formunderstandable byArmyAir Force staff through his use of symbols picturing weather events. Crawford would develop a fondness for the atmosphere ofNewOrleans.He enjoyed jazz andwas attracted to the light andstructural elements found in the city’s cemeteries. In 1971, he was diagnosed with cancer, but undaunted, he continued living his life, findingmeaning in religion that included an affinity for thepowerof religiousparadeshewitnessed inSeville during Holy Week. As noted: “We cannot help but feel a distinct spiritual side tohisart and temperament inpaintings such as the NewOrleans cemetery series of the 1950s, or the 1970s Semana Santa paintings from Seville.” (Agee WC. Ralston Crawford (1906-1978):ARetrospective.NewYork,NY;SalanderO’Reilly Galleries; 2001:9.) In Houston arranging for an exhibition when hewas hospitalized, Crawfordwasnot even submissive to death, having planned his funeral in New Orleans to be accompanied by a brass band. He believed in the value of art as an influence for rationality in society, but the lyrical allure ofAmerica’s industrial architecture was especially irresistible. “For him, industrial structures were the American counterpart to Europe’s Gothic cathedrals.” (Haskell, p 48.)