The bridge from Race Street
(1939)
Medium
lithograph
Measurements
39.0 × 21.6 cm (image) 45.7 × 27.9 cm (sheet)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased NGV Foundation, 2021
© The Estate of Benton Spruance
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
Philadelphia-born artist Benton Spruance studied architecture while taking evening classes in drawing and etching, before deciding to pursue a career in art. In 1928 and again in 1930 he travelled to Paris, where he studied with the Cubist painter André Lhote and was introduced to lithography. Spruance is best known for his bold prints of urban scenes executed in velvety lithography, such as this view of the Delaware Bridge, which spans the river of the same name to connect Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Later renamed the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, this was the world’s longest suspension bridge when it was built in the 1920s.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
(Philadelphia), Pennsylvania, United States
Catalogue/s Raisonné
Fine & Looney 165
Edition
edition of 35
Printing/Publishing
printed by Theodore Cuno
Inscription
printed in ink (in image) l.c.r.: bs
inscribed pencil l.l: Ed.35
inscribed pencil l.c: The Bridge from Race St
inscribed pencil l.r.: B Spruance
Accession Number
2021.598
Departments
International Prints / International Prints and Drawings