Construction of the New York Subway

attributed to Grant W. Pullis, 1908-08

Photographs can sometimes serve a purely practical purpose, such as documenting construction work. In the years around 1910, Pierre and Grant Pullis (father and son?) took hundreds of photographs of the construction of the New York subway. They used the extremely simple cyanotype technique, which yielded blue coloured prints of great and unintentional beauty.

  • Artwork typephotograph
  • Object numberRP-F-2012-23
  • Dimensionsheight 188 mm x width 238 mm
  • Physical characteristicscyanotypie

Identification

  • Title(s)

    Construction of the New York Subway

  • Object type

  • Object number

    RP-F-2012-23

  • Inscriptions / marks

    • date and inscription: ‘PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION / FOR THE FIRST DISTRICT / OCT 3-1908 / ENGINEER, FIRST DIVISION’
    • date and inscription: ‘(2599)CON 2 – BOWLING GREEN / 8-10-1908’
    • stamp: ‘4’

Creation

  • Creation

    photographer: attributed to Grant W. Pullis, New York (city)

  • Dating

    1908-08

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    cyanotypie

  • Dimensions

    height 188 mm x width 238 mm


This work is about

  • Subject

  • Place


Acquisition and rights


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