Commercial Place
Artist
Kenneth Harris
(American, 1904-1983)
CultureAmerican
Date1950
MediumWatercolor on paper
DimensionsOverall, Image: 28 3/4 x 18 in. (73 x 45.7 cm)
Overall: 30 1/4 x 22 in. (76.8 x 55.9 cm)
Overall, Mat: 37 x 25 in. (94 x 63.5 cm)
Overall, Frame: 38 x 26 1/8 in. (96.5 x 66.4 cm)
Overall: 30 1/4 x 22 in. (76.8 x 55.9 cm)
Overall, Mat: 37 x 25 in. (94 x 63.5 cm)
Overall, Frame: 38 x 26 1/8 in. (96.5 x 66.4 cm)
InscribedSigned lower left: Kenneth Harris 1950
PortfolioPortrait of a City series (Norfolk, VA, 1950-51)
Credit LineMuseum purchase, Norfolk Newspapers' Art Trust Fund
Object number51.45.2
Not on view
Label TextKenneth Harris (1904-1983) Commercial Place, 1950 Watercolor Collection Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk Newspapers' Art Trust Fund 51.45.2 Commercial Place became the important retail center of Norfolk during the Civil War era and served as the terminal for ferry service between Norfolk and Portsmouth. Only the Confederate Monument remains there today and with the redevelopment of the area in the 1960s, even that has been moved from its original location. The Pickett-Buchanan Camp of Confederate Veterans erected the columnar portion of the monument in 1898, and subsequently commissioned the nationally-known, Norfolk-born sculptor, William Couper (1853-1942) to create the bronze Confederate Soldier for the top. The statue was unveiled on May 16, 1907 during the Jamestown Exposition. The small orange-red, hip-roofed building seen in the distance near the water (immediately to the right of the monument) was the Norfolk-Portsmouth Ferry Terminal. It also survives, but has been moved inland to become a focal point for Ghent Square, where surrounded by herb gardens, it serves as the Fred Heutte Garden Center. Exhibition HistorySoutheastern circuit, Oct. 1952-April 1954. "Norfolk Story in Painting," exhibited at Norfolk Arena, Oct. 25-27, 1968, shown in catalogue. November 1968, hanging in Dept. of Public Works. Lent to Navy Relief Society for April 18-19, 1958, Ball at NOB. To be shown in entrance. "Kenneth Harris Watercolors," Chrysler Museum of Art, September 22, 1998 - January 10, 1999. (Community Gallery) Published ReferencesCOMMONWEALTH, June 1952. Chrysler Museum BULLETIN, April 1952.
