51st Street 

Daniel Greene created '51st Street' with oil on canvas, deploying a high degree of illusionistic skill. The artist's hand is evident in the blending of pigments, carefully modulating light and shadow. Yet, rather than focusing on the artist's virtuosity, consider the subject: an anonymous woman, waiting in a subway station, a thoroughly modern space for the transit of labor, rendered here in painstaking detail. Think about the labor involved in this painting, contrasting the traditional, slow craft of oil painting with the industrial processes that created the subway itself, and indeed the clothes and accessories the woman wears. The mosaic tilework behind her is also labor-intensive, evoking the many hands that built and maintain the city’s infrastructure. In focusing on this everyday scene, Greene bridges the gap between traditional art forms and the realities of contemporary life, challenging us to see the value in both.