New York Coliseum
by Johann Berthelsen (1883–1972)18 x 24 inches
Signed lower right: Johann Berthelsen; on stretcher bar: Johann Berthelsen / Columbus Circle Coliseum New York
Provenance
Private collection
Sale, Winter Associates, Plainville, Connecticut, July 24, 2023, lot 28, from above
Private collection, New York, New York, acquired from above
Note: The New York Coliseum was completed in 1956 and served as an expansive convention center and exhibition space at Columbus Circle until 2000. Today, the Deutsche Bank Center, formerly known as Time Warner Center, sits in its place.
Artist Biography
Johann Berthelsen was a celebrated American impressionist known for his poetic renditions of New York City. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Berthelsen immigrated to the United States with his family as a child. He first expressed his artistic inclinations through music, a passion that played out over the course of his career. Berthelsen was a highly trained baritone who toured the country with the Grand Opera Company, ran the voice department at the Indianapolis Conservatory of Music, and opened his own teaching studio in New York City in 1920.
The Victorian critics John Ruskin and Walter Pater likened painting to music,
