Image

Abstract painting depicting small gold rectangles placed sequentially against a black background, directly below them is a large unsaturated rectangular shape that fills the lower half of the oil-painted canvas.
Abstract painting depicting small gold rectangles placed sequentially against a black background, directly below them is a large unsaturated rectangular shape that fills the lower half of the oil-painted canvas.
Abstract painting depicting small gold rectangles placed sequentially against a black background, directly below them is a large unsaturated rectangular shape that fills the lower half of the oil-painted canvas.
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William Congdon

Paris, Train on Bridge
Now On View

Description

Maker

William Congdon (American, 1912 - 1998)

Title

Paris, Train on Bridge

Year

1953

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

oil paint

Supports

Dimensions

125.7 x 141.6 cm (49 1/2 x 55 3/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signature: Signed LR:W. C. 6-53

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Murray S. Danforth

Object Number

54.130

Type

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Art and Design from 1900 to Now
Jun 04, 2022 – Sep 01, 2026

Label copy

William Congdon performed an act of painterly resistance in this nighttime view of Paris. He used mat knives to scrape pigment across a rigid surface, then incised the paint with pointed tools. Deep scores reveal the cathedral of Notre Dame, while a fine web of lines projects a mirror image of the bridge and train onto the river Seine.

Congdon served as an ambulance driver during World War II, witnessing its destruction firsthand. He returned to Europe afterward, resisting commercial success in New York and consciously rejecting the material aspirations of the American dream.

–Maureen C. O’Brien, curator of painting and sculpture

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Tombstone

William Congdon (American, 1912 - 1998)
Paris, Train on Bridge, 1953
Oil on Masonite
125.7 x 141.6 cm (49 1/2 x 55 3/4 inches)
Gift of Mrs. Murray S. Danforth 54.130

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