The Weight of History: A Step-by-Step Watercolor Demonstration

John Hulsey

The Subject

New York is a great place to paint while traveling–there is an endless variety of subject matter on the streets. There is also a world of interesting subject matter contained in the interiors of historic buildings for those who would bring an artistic eye to them. Some of these places are open to the public, some not. Not long ago, Ann and I were invited to a reception at the private University Club in Manhattan.

“This venerable institution was designed by The firm of Charles McKim, William Mead and Stanford White, who were all members, got the architectural commission and went on to design what remains one of the grandest clubhouses of the city’s prominent social clubs.

Erected in 1899 in a Mediterranean Revival Italian Renaissance palazzo-style and particularly noted for its reading room (with ceiling murals by H. Siddons Mowbray modeled after the Vatican Apartments), dining room, and the attempt made by the architects to disguise a nine-story building behind what seems …