Recalling how he came to paint this view, Joel Babb wrote: "The painting centered on the Custom House tower with the airport and East Boston across the water shows to what extent the new buildings are crowding out the views in the city. I particularly love the effects of atmospheric perspective in cityscapes in which the urban geometry dissolves into indistinctness, and the sense of structure and place are lost in vastness. But the [painting shows] the new Boston has an up and down dimension as well as an East West North South. Glass facades conceal the cubicles and niches of residents and businesses which have nested within far above the streets.”

More information about this painting...

Provenance:

Collection of the artist

Inscription:

(top stretcher) Joel M. Babb / The Customs House / 2018 / (view from the Harvard Club) / (#1)