WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Rackstraw Downes

Rackstraw Downes

American, 1939

PaintingRealism

Representation

None documented

Institutional Exhibitions

Works in Collection

Assets Indexed

Authority-backed Facts

Publications Referenced

80%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Movements

• Realism

Related Artists

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Influence Graph

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Selected Institutional Exhibitions

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Landscape

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1972

About

Why this artist matters now

Rackstraw Downes is an American painter known for precise, large-scale watercolors and oils depicting overlooked urban and industrial landscapes. Working primarily from direct observation, he renders parking lots, warehouses, and street corners with meticulous attention to atmospheric condition and spatial recession. His practice, rooted in postwar realism, eschews both abstraction and romantic sentiment in favor of the visual complexity embedded in mundane architectural and civic spaces.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 25d ago

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Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Realism

Medium

Painting

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Museum of Modern ArtNew York Art Institute of Chicago The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art

Canonical record

Artworks (14)

WattsOS

The Cotton Club From Under the Viaduct at Riverside Drive and St. Clair Place

2003 · Oil on canvas

34 1/8 × 66 1/4 in. (86.7 × 168.3 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Snug Harbor, Metal Ductwork in G Attic

2001 · Oil on canvas

Overall: 40.7 × 433.8 cm (16 × 170 3/4 in.); Part 1: 39.4 × 69.3 cm (15 1/2 × 27 1/4 in.); Part 2: 40.7 × 83.9 cm (16 × 33 in.); Part 3: 40.7 × 83.9 cm (16 × 33 in.); Part 4: 39.4 × 90.2 cm (15 1/2 × 35 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

WattsOS

Under the Gowanus on Hamilton Avenue: Part 2: Pedestrian Crossing at Garnet Street Looking Southeast

1999 · oil on canvas

Overall: 532.8 cm (209 3/4 in.); Part 1: 38.4 x 79.2 cm (15 1/8 x 31 3/16 in.); Part 2: 46.6 x 89 cm (18 3/8 x 35 1/16 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

WattsOS

Under the Gowanus, First Sketch for Part 2 (2 Pieces)

1999 · graphite on white, wove paper

Sheet: 13.5 x 40.9 cm (5 5/16 x 16 1/8 in.); Image: 13.5 x 40.9 cm (5 5/16 x 16 1/8 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

WattsOS

A Page of maps showing where the artist stood while working on the four partsof "Under the Gowanus on Hamilton Avenue"

1999 · graphite on Nideggen paper

Sheet: 12.4 x 78.4 cm (4 7/8 x 30 7/8 in.); Image: 12.4 x 78.4 cm (4 7/8 x 30 7/8 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

WattsOS

Under the Gowanus on Hamilton Avenue: Part 3: At the Corner of Court Street Looking Southeast

1999 · oil on canvas

Overall: 532.8 cm (209 3/4 in.); Part 3: 46.6 x 89 cm (18 3/8 x 35 1/16 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

WattsOS

Under the Gowanus on Hamilton Avenue: Part 4: On the Median Strip at W.9th Street Looking Southeast

1999 · oil on canvas

Overall: 532.8 cm (209 3/4 in.); Part 4: 38.4 x 79.5 cm (15 1/8 x 31 5/16 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

WattsOS

Under the Gowanus on Hamilton Avenue

1999 · oil on canvas

Overall: 532.8 cm (209 3/4 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

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Images

Artsy

Art Institute of Chicago

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Movements and affiliations

Realism

Movement

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Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

Group Exhibition Landscape

New York · 1972