In Lower New York by Jerome Myers

            The piece "In Lower New York" was painted by Jerome Myers an american painter born in Petersburg, Virginia and raised in Philadelphia. Jerome lived from 1867-1940. During this era he would have experienced the lows of the lows influencing his works of drawing and painting of urban slums. He also lived in these areas as a young boy and was influenced by european paintings when studying abroad. The medium was oil on canvas a very popular way to paint in this period. The size is 30"x 25". The current location is in Portland, Oregon at the Portland Art Museum (PAM). "In Lower New York" has presided in Portland Art Museum since Jerome Myers sold it. It is a part of there permanent collection. Along with the history can only tell part of the story but how it was composed completes it. .
             Of the urban scenes that he painted, Jerome Myers wrote at the end of his career, "Others saw ugliness and degradation there, I saw poetry and beauty." (PAM). In spite of humble features such as the hanging laundry, the junkyard sign, and the somewhat disheveled and unladylike street seller in the foreground, this is a painting of vibrant street life as opposed to a dirty and dangerous slum. Myers's optimism and pleasure in the picturesque life of the Lower East Side neighborhoods. The composition of In Lower New York resembles a stage set with a row of vertical tenement buildings serving as a backdrop for a busy urban neighborhood. While much of the palette is muted, the emphasis on the areas of bright color, the clean streets, playful children and quaint row houses. He does not use much texture, yet he is focused on the color and lines. The space is shallow with all of the action being shown close or near to you and no real depth of objects or shapes. .
             Throughout the painting there is a formal balance empty space at the top and at the bottom to keep the balance. The variety of color is not there with it having the same or similar color throughout.