Robert Padovano

"Laundry Day" 2009 | Acrylic on Canvas | Size = 24" X 18"

This is a very personal painting for me. It typifies my experience growing up in Brooklyn and riding these trains, many of which don’t exist anymore. As a small child it was a thrill to travel to the beach at Coney Island or to my Aunt’s house riding on them. I can still smell the wicker seats and feel the breeze from the old fashioned ceiling fans inside these subway cars.

Later on as a teen I would take the “Sea Beach” train regularly to my friend’s house. This line in particular ran through the backyards of many houses in this part of Brooklyn as well as the “Brighton Line”. While gazing up from the train window on a typical Saturday afternoon, you would see an almost endless string of back porches and apartments with laundry and clothes lines blowing in the wind. Even today, when I have occasion to travel the “N” train, it always brings me back.                                                                                     

I am a huge fan of the great Impressionist Monet, and this work is in a way my attempt at visualizing this scene as he might have, as well as it depicting one of my fondest memories.

Item No. 073 | Opening Price = $550 | Artist's Estimated Value = $1800 | Current Top Bid =