Alfred Statler (American, 1916-1984). Oil on canvas titled "The Night Cathedral," depicting a surreal train platform rising above assembled automobiles parked below in a transportation minded urban cityscape, 1948. At the top, a seemingly living cathedral rises into the night. Captured with oils on canvas in a dark haunting color palette, the dramatic impasto technique is impressive and everything we love about American art of this period. The painting has been cleaned and is framed in a handsome rough-hewn Larson-Juhl wood frame that accents the painting well. Signed and dated 1948 in the lower right corner.

Lot Essay:
Alfred Statler, who was active in New York City from the post-war era until the 1970s, was an American photo-journalist whose name is most often associated with the booming modern art scene of the 1950s and 1960s, and in particular with Andy Warhol’s early gallery exhibitions. Along with his work on assignment for publications like TIME magazine, Statler was an exhibited fine art photographer, drawn to the bustling street scenes of New York.

Statler began his art career as a student of Fernand Leger, the cubist master, and these early works exhibit both the influence of cubism and America’s WPA movement. Never before seen, many of these paintings capture the urban eccentricities of life in New York City, with pronounced industrial machine age imagery.
Sight; height: 15 1/2 in x width: 19 1/4 in. Framed; height: 22 1/4 in x width: 26 1/4 in. Please contact us for a detailed condition report. Please note that the lack of a condition statement does not imply perfect condition. Email condition@revereauctions.com with any condition questions.