Synthesis of New York -- The Great Depression

One of Neel’s most imaginative and harrowing scenes, this dystopian cityscape extends her exploration of the fraught emotional effects of the Great Depression. Above ground, scattered figures with skull-like faces stroll near the elevated railway, while commercial buildings loom ominously over the street. Surreally, two-winged dress forms (one with rouged cheeks) alight into the night sky. Below street level, Neel depicts an eerily unpopulated subway platform that places the scene along 34th Street. Her deadpan, deliberately unrefined technique enhances the painting’s already grim subject.

Synthesis of New York is one of dozens of paintings that Neel’s lover Kenneth Doolittle slashed in December 1934 in a violent outburst during which he also burned hundreds of drawings, watercolors, and other personal possessions. This painting was subsequently conserved and repaired.