New York: View From South Street

Max Pollak

South Street is in lower Manhattan in New York City and was so named due to its location on the south side of the island where Fulton Street meets the East River. South Street is an historic area with cobblestone streets and 19th century mercantile buildings. In the 19th century, South Street was part of a flourishing commercial area but, by 1928 when Pollak made this aquatint, South Street was in decline. It is was the home of the Fulton Street Fish Market and is a designated historic district.

Pollak's use of black and grey hints at the gritty decay of the buildings. Pollak was commissioned by Theodore Dreiser to do a series of eight color etchings of New York which were then reproduced in his book "My City", published in 1929. This was the second illustration in the book.

Though editioned as 150 Pollak did not finish the whole edition, the stock market crashed then nest year, when Dreiser's book was published, and the economic practicality of printing a full edition disappeared.