When I was 22 years old I lived in New York for a short while � I arrived knowing nobody and with nowhere to stay. On the flight over I found myself sitting next to a lady that happened to be the Art Director of a New York magazine I knew and admired � we shared a cab to Greenwich Village where she dropped me off at the Washington Square Hotel, famed haunt of artists and writers. I spent my first evening, a very humid and hot Autumn evening, listening to the various musicians just hanging out in Washington Square Park. This was my introduction to New York, and Greenwich Village remains to this day my favourite part of the city.

In the course of researching this blog, I�ve noticed that a lot of American artists, particularly those associated with New York City, like the Ashcan School, have at one time or another undertaken paintings and drawings of Washington Square Park, so I thought I�d do a short post that subject.

A recent photograph � Poul Webb

 Washington Square Park is one of the best-known of New York City�s 1,900 public parks. At 9.75 acres it is a landmark in the Manhattan neighbourhood of Greenwich Village, as well as a meeting place and centre for cultural activity. In 1826 the City bought the land, the square was laid out and levelled, and it was turned into the Washington Military Parade Ground. Military parade grounds were public spaces specified by the City where volunteer militia companies responsible for the nation's defence would train.

The streets surrounding the square became one of the city's most desirable residential areas in the 1830s. The protected row of Greek Revival style houses on the north side of the park remain from that time. In 1849 and 1850 the parade ground was reworked into the first park on the site. More paths were added and a new fence was built around it. In 1871, it came under the control of the newly-formed New York City Department of Parks, and it was re-designed again, with curving rather than straight secondary paths.

In 1889, to celebrate the centennial of George Washington�s inauguration as President of the United States, a large plaster and wood Memorial Arch was erected over Fifth Avenue just north of the park. The temporary plaster and wood arch was so popular that in 1892 a permanent marble arch, designed by the New York architect Stanford White, was erected, standing 23 metres high. The inscription on the arch reads: �Let us raise a standard to which the wise and the honest can repair. The event is in the hand of God.� Washington. White modelled the arch after the 1806 Arc de Triomphe in Paris. In 1918 two statues of George Washington were added to the north side. The first fountain was completed in 1852. The fountain was replaced in 1872. The monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi was unveiled in 1888.

William Glackens c1908 Washington Square Park oil on canvas 35.6 x 47 cm

Carl Gustaf Nelson oil on board

Everett Shinn 1915 conte� crayon & watercolour

Everett Shinn 1952

Everett Shinn Washington Square, New York at Boston

Everett Shinn c1945 oil on canvas

George Luks charcoal on paper

John Sloan 1923  Washington Arch etching 25.7 x 17.3 cm

John Sloan 1925 Sculpture in Washington Square etching

John Sloan 1926 Buses in Washington Square etching

John Sloan Easter Eve, Washington Square etching 34.6 x 27.8 cm

Paul Cornoyer oil on canvas

Paul Cornoyer oil on canvas

Paul Cornoyer oil on canvas

Paul Cornoyer oil on canvas

Paul Cornoyer c1908 Late Afternoon oil on canvas

Paul Cornoyer Winter oil on canvas

Paul Cornoyer oil on canvas

William Glackens 1910 Descending from the Bus oil on canvas

William Glackens 1910 Washington Square

William Glackens 1910 Washington Square

William Glackens 1911-12 The Arch oil on canvas

William Glackens c1912 Italo-American Celebration oil on canvas

William Glackens 1910 Washington Square

William Glackens1912 March Day oil on canvas