Julian Alden Weir (American, 1852-1919). <em>Union Square</em>, ca. 1879. Oil on canvas, 29 7/8 x 24 15/16 in. (75.9 x 63.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 26.410 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.410_SL1.jpg)

Julian Alden Weir (American, 1852-1919). Union Square, ca. 1879. Oil on canvas, 29 7/8 x 24 15/16 in. (75.9 x 63.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 26.410 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.410_SL1.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Why does there seem to be a halo around the figures?

As the label might already explain, this is a fragment of a larger work originally titled "In the Park." After this piece was cut away from the original work, it was re-cut into an oval.

Then those "spandrels" (triangular additions to the corners) were cut from another piece of canvas and added later. Weir painted them to fill out the composition into a rectangle again! He matched the colors on the spandrels to the colors resulting from the dark varnish that was on the original composition. Because the varnish was later removed, we're left with a lighter oval center. Complicated, right?

Makes sense but yes, complicated!

Union Square

Julian Alden Weir

American Art

On View: American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, Visions and Myths of a Nation, 1800–1890

The Conservator's Eye

Set in Manhattan’s Union Square, this scene captures the urban street types and bohemian artists who populated the neighborhood.

Julian Alden Weir cut apart a larger composition titled In the Park sometime after it received harsh criticism at the 1879 Society of American Artists exhibition. One of three fragments, Union Square was cut in the shape of an oval and expanded into a rectangle through the addition of four spandrels, the triangular additions at the corners. Weir extended the composition onto the additions, filling in the sky and the bottom of the central figure’s fur muff. There is a tonal difference between the two generations of paint. This is because Weir matched the newer colors to a dirty varnish layer on the oval, which has since been cleaned away.

ARTIST Julian Alden Weir, American, 1852-1919

MEDIUM Oil on canvas

DATES ca. 1879

DIMENSIONS 29 7/8 x 24 15/16 in. (75.9 x 63.4 cm) frame: 41 3/4 x 36 3/4 x 5 3/4 in. (106 x 93.3 x 14.6 cm) (show scale)

SIGNATURE Signed lower right: "J Alden Weir"

COLLECTIONS American Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 26.410

CREDIT LINE Museum Collection Fund

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, Visions and Myths of a Nation, 1800–1890

CAPTION Julian Alden Weir (American, 1852-1919). Union Square, ca. 1879. Oil on canvas, 29 7/8 x 24 15/16 in. (75.9 x 63.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 26.410 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 26.410_SL1.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 26.410_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions

This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Why does there seem to be a halo around the figures?

As the label might already explain, this is a fragment of a larger work originally titled "In the Park." After this piece was cut away from the original work, it was re-cut into an oval.

Makes sense but yes, complicated!