1887 - 1986

Radiator Building—Night, New York

1927

Oil on canvas
48 x 30 in. (121.9 x 76.2 cm)
Framed: 48 5/16 x 30 3/16 x 1 3/8 in. (122.7 x 76.7 x 3.5 cm)
The dimensions give us a sense of how bug the image was, and how long it took Georgia O'Keeffe to paint it Georgia O'Keeffe gives us a sense of New York in the 1920's.

For his autumn painting, Leonid Afremov used as always the brightest colors – yellow, orange, green, violet, blue and dark blue. These colors are emphasized by the light of lanterns. In the places where light falls on autumn foliage, it acquires orange, yellow and red shades. In the places not reached by the light such colors as turquoise, blue and dark blue dominate. This provides a rich palette. The alley along which our character walks goes into the turquoise distance – we do not see its end. The alley somehow divides the painting into 2 parts which are very different in color. It seems that on the left the winter has already come – different shades of blue and turquoise remind us of winter colors – the colors of snow and ice while on the right the autumn colors  are blazing – the trees burn with a bright orange bonfire to which the lights of the lanterns add even more heat.

In the center of the painting we see its main character – a man walking with a dog. He has to walk his friend despite the rain – all dog owners know what is like – they need to leave the comfortable flat regardless of the weather go for a walk. Some people see only advantages in this – your friend will never give you a reason to be lazy so that you can’t say, “No, today I won't go”. He will pull you outdoors, even in the most inclement day!