New York Deco

by Richard Berenholtz (Photographer)

New York calls to mind many the Chrysler Building with its innovative design and sunburst pattern, the Empire State building with its amazing views and dominating size, Rockefeller Center seamlessly merging commerce and art. Each of these cherished pieces of New York were created during one of the cities most stylish and dazzling the 1920s and 30s. New York Deco profiles this magnificent period of creativity in architecture when art deco thrived with its emphasis on machine-tooled elegance and sleek lines. Many of the New York City landmarks were born of this age, as well as dozens of lesser—known office buildings and apartment houses. Together, they make the skyline of the Big Apple what it is today.

Richard Berenholtz’s “extraordinary” and “voluptuous” photographs have offered the best of New York in the large scale New York New York and Panoramic New York and now brilliantly highlight the finest examples of NYC’s art deco architecture. Berenholtz’s photography is accompanied by text from writers, artists, and personalities of the era, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dorothy Parker, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Ogden Nash, and Frank Lloyd Wright to create a wonderful celebration of the era. A perfect gift for the New Yorker and tourist alike, this gem of a book is a window into one of city’s most divine periods.

Genres: Architecture, Art, Nonfiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike the intentionally repulsive modernist art of the later twentieth century, Art Deco welded the sensibilities of the industrial age with the Classical tradition (as well as adding in foreign influences from, say, ancient Egypt or Persia) to make a new style that is both suitable for the contemporary world and enduringly beautiful. This artistic style has its most permanent monuments in the form of architecture and its adornments, and some of the most striking Art Deco buildings are in New York City.

This book is mostly a series of photographs by Richard Berenholtz, and it has as "commentary" quotations from writers of the '20s and '30s about the "feel" of NYC in that time, and captions that give a limited but nonetheless useful information about the location of the buildings and their architects and significance.

Some of the reviews on Amazon complain that the book isn't much more than a picture book. That's true enough, but fundamentally misguided. This isn't an analytical discussion of the buildings or of the period but a collection of striking illustrations of what you can see today. On that basis, I think the book is great. It's comparatively short, so naturally one might want more of any of it (for instance, from my limited experience, I'd want to see more of the Fred C. French Bldg, and I bet anybody who's familiar with the city could come up with other examples).

The photos are mostly straightforward, giving a very clear impression of the buildings and the ornaments portrayed. One complaint I have is that a few of the dawn shots of the city as a whole strike me as being photoshopped (strange colors for dawn). But these apparent lapses are few in number and notable for being out of place with the large majority of the images. These images are mostly either closeup shots of details or exterior shots taken from high up.

One minor quibble is that the '20s-style typeface used for the captions is rather 'unreadable" as the typographers say (i suspect it would look fine in a bigger font, say on a menu).

Overall, every picture makes you (or at least me) think, "God, when can I get back to NYC to see that?" The art is beautiful and so is this book.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book. The photos (and architecture!) are superb and the interspersed quotes from the era are the icing on the cake.

[Magpie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely beautiful

[Jiwon Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

For someone who knows nothing about Art Deco, this book was beautiful and informative. I would love to buy this book if I ever get a chance to live in New York :)

[Bradley White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love art deco.

[K. G. Whitehurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me be upfront-- I LOVE Art Deco. That said, this is still a wonderful book because the photography is so lush. And because it's not a gigantic (and expensive) coffee table book, you can actually hold it, get up close to it, read it. The short descriptions of the photographs teach quite a bit of architectural history is the most delicious way. The literary quotations add some perspective to New York City, not all of it complimentary. It's a book to make you want to go to NYC just to see these great buildings.

[SM Surber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous pictures and descriptions, with relating quotes about NYC by notable personalities of the era.