Silence and stillness of the 1930s East River

Jara Henry Valenta was a Czech-born American artist who made his way to New York City in 1934. Here he painted this scene of a lonely East River warehouse and loading dock, with no ship in sight.

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His waterfront—are we on the Manhattan or Brooklyn side?—feels stark and remote. That looks like the Manhattan Bridge in the distance; off to the right are two small figures holding shovels beside a pile of coal, a coal company truck parked beside one.

This is a waterfront without the usual hustle and bustle, perhaps a comment on the Depression-era city’s change in fortune from a vibrant metropolis of trade and shipping to one of economic stillness.

[From the Smithsonian American Art Museum/Renwick Gallery]