NYC Urban Sketchers Blog

Saturday, October 29, 2022

The forty foot wide Mall, flanked by its majestic rows of American Elms, provides the perfect place for sketching.  It is usually filled with activity, loads of people strolling through or hanging out people watching.  The Autumn offers the view of Crayola colored leaves wafting gracefully through the crisp air and should be near peak perfection.  

The southern end of the Mall features an area known as Literary Walk that is populated with a series of sculptures depicting popular literary figures. Other personalities represented along The Mall include Christopher Columbus, Victor Herbert, and Ludwig van Beethoven. Another celebrated sculpture residing the Mall area is Christopher Fratin’s “Eagles and Prey” depicting two birds of prey attacking a goat; an art piece that has stirred more than it’s share of controversy. In 2020, this stretch of the Mall became the site of the first new monument added to the Park in over 50 years, the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument.

Olmsted and Vaux called the Mall “an open-air hall of reception.” The designers arranged trees in regular rows and chose American elms because their curvy and overarching branches create an impression of an architectural space—some have compared it to the vaulting of a cathedral. This straight path, one of the few in the Park, connects entrances and landscapes in the south to points north, leading directly to Bethesda Terrace

DETAILS

What:   We will be sketching at the Mall (aka The Promenade) in Central Park.  

Where:   We’re meeting at north end of the Mall - approx 72 St. The Mall is located mid-park between 66th to 72nd Streets .  (see map)

 

When:  Meet at 10 AM.  Sleeping late?  Come anyway - we’ll be there the whole day.  If you’re attending the afternoon workshop consider warming up in the park with us.

How:

-   By Subway:  

• East Side:
• 68th St. - Hunter College - 4, 6 train
• 77th St. - 4, 6 train
• West Side:
• 72 St. - A, B, C train
• Lincoln Center - 66th St. - 1, 2 train
• Columbus Circle - 59th St. - 1, 2, A, B, C and D - train
• See map below.

Lunch:  12:30 PM .  Bring your own or rely on vendors in the park   Our lunch location within the park will be determined once we’re there.

Afternoon:  1:30 PM  Back to the sketching

Show and Tell:  3:00 PM - We’ll find a likely spot (possibly where we had lunch) to share our work, tell stories and talk about what artists talk about.

NOTE:

-     Bring a hat and be prepared for sunshine  

-     Bring a stool, it gives you more options.  There are some benches in the park but having your portable stool means you can sketch exactly where you like.

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Can't find us?  

Call or Text Mark - 973-809-9128

There are no fees or attendance taken. All drawing skill levels are welcome