New York from Brooklyn Heights 1930

R. Varin made this view of New York from Brooklyn Heights sometime between 1860 and 1990. Just imagine the way it might have been to stand here, brush in hand, trying to capture a panorama of old New York, so different from the Brooklyn we know today. I feel like the artist here has captured a memory of New York through the lens of another time. The light is soft, almost dreamlike, and the colours, pale blues and faded greens, evoke a sense of nostalgia. I see the water is alive with boats, each one painstakingly detailed. The artist must have paused to notice how the light catches the sails or how the buildings cluster on the distant shore. What do you think Varin was thinking when he created this? Was he trying to capture the energy of a city on the rise or preserve a moment in time before it disappeared? It reminds me of some of the early Impressionists, those who sought to capture a fleeting moment. In a way, this painting is a conversation across time, an echo of past visions inspiring new ways of seeing.