2 Broadway murals (Lee Krasner)

2 Broadway murals are a pair of untitled decorative mosaic murals by the American artist Lee Krasner completed in 1959 and located at 2 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, New York.[1] Both murals are abstract with colorful planes made from glass tesserae in green, gold, black, and crimson, echoing the dynamism of Krasner's Abstract Expressionist painting style. The larger mural, installed above the Broadway entrance, is 86 feet by 12 feet, while the smaller one is 15 feet by 15 feet and placed above the entrance facing Broad Street. They were commissioned by Uris Brothers and designed by Krasner and her nephew, Roland Stein.

2 Broadway murals
Mural over the Broadway entrance seen at night in May 2023
ArtistLee Krasner
Year1959
MediumGlass tesserae
MovementAbstract Expressionism
Dimensions86 ft by 12 ft; 15 ft by 15 ft
LocationNew York City

History

Lee Krasner was commissioned by Uris Brothers, a real estate company, to create a pair of murals at an office building the company owned located at 2 Broadway in Lower Manhattan. The building was designed by Emery Roth & Sons and constructed between 1958 and 1959. The murals were designed by Krasner together with her nephew, Roland Stein, and installed in 1959.[2]: 16  Both murals are abstract, depicting an arrangement of colorful planes in green, gold, black, and crimson hues made using glass tesserae.[3] The larger one, measuring 86 feet by 12 feet, is installed above the entryway facing Broadway while the smaller one, measuring 15 feet by 15 feet, faces the Broad Street entrance.[4]

Krasner was a recognized Abstract Expressionist painter during the 1950s and the interjecting colorful planes of the mural evoke the dynamic visual compositions of the artist's painting practice.[1] Scholar Emily Warner describes the work as "an explosion of swooping forms, splintered tiles, and craggy edges".[5] The work's composition has been compared to Krasner's 1955 painting Bald Eagle where "cluster of irregular swatches" are seen distributed "rhythmically" across the space of the composition.[6]: 519  According to art historian Marcia Tucker, the front mural at 2 Broadway "remains one of the few successful, architecturally appropriate exterior wall pieces to have been done on this scale".[2]: 16 

See also

References
  1. Wichmann, Natalie (2019-12-19). "Lee Krasner's New York City IV: Giant mosaic on Broadway". Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  2. Tucker, Marcia (1973). Lee Krasner: Large Paintings. New York: Whitney Museum of American Art. LCCN 73-88962.
  3. Williams, Reba White (2001). "The Prints of Lee Krasner". Print Quarterly. Vol. 18, no. 4. pp. 396–413. ISSN 0265-8305. JSTOR 41826272.
  4. Wasserman, Emily (March 1968). "Lee Krasner in Mid-Career". Artforum. 6 (7): 38–43.
  5. Warner, Emily. "Ornament and Obsolescence: Lee Krasner's Mosaics for Wall Street". The Courtauld Institute of Art. London: University of London. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  6. Naylor, Colin, ed. (1989). Contemporary Artists. London: St. James Press. ISBN 978-0-912289-96-0.
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