The Paintings of Martin Berkovitz - Historical Themes feature periods for which I feel an affinity such as art deco New York.
Previous Works / Historical Themes
In this category belong such paintings as the Turquoise Pavilion and Blue Manhattan. There are certain periods to which I feel a strong affinity. One of these is the twenties and thirties in New York. The idea for Blue Manhattan first came to me in nineteen seventy-eight when I made my first drawings. It took till two thousand and four to complete the painting after innumerable sketches and changes.
Interestingly enough, while having breakfast at the New York Bagel in Santa Fe the solution finally came. It expresses with a direct simplicity the two qualities I've always associated with Manhattan and its culture, great vitality and powerful reaching. So after twenty-six years I had my painting. Like many of my pictures the historically themed works tend to grow over many years, allowing a distillation into maturation and simplicity.
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