Green Carts
By Robert Beck
I came to the Upper West Side too late to ever qualify as a New Yorker, and I’m still learning the ins and outs of the community’s weave. The vegetable stands are a bit mysterious. There are 150 of them in Manhattan — licensing agencies call them Green Carts. The stands are a long-established part of the food supply chain, and articles and comments about them regularly pop up in the Rag. They bear a strong resemblance to the carts in old-time photographs of street life in the city but without the bushy moustache.
It feels a touch off-rhythm that this link to the past exists comfortably in an ever-forward-looking city. Carts aren’t a Disney thing; people do their everyday shopping there. In this age when we can buy food in drug stores and drugs in food stores, carts on the sidewalk serve a purpose that has to do with the buyers and sellers finding roots — a simple agreement in a complex, transactional town.
There is a vegetable vendor on Columbus near Lincoln Center that I had on my list of West Side Canvas subjects. I was going to set up my easel in a recess along the front of the Post Office. Then scaffolding went up, and the stand was cast in a deep shadow. I could depict it as such, but that’s a different painting. Bigger. More complex. More Bellows. A studio painting.
So, I had my eye out for another cart to paint. The one on Broadway just above Zabar’s caught my attention. It had the advantage of being two blocks from my studio. I’ve been dragging my kit around, setting it up, breaking it down, and dragging it back to the studio for three decades. That exercise isn’t any different now than when I first started, but I sure am. Close is good. I went to that stand a few times, keeping my eye on the sun and shadows, looking for the best moment and place to paint. It’s a busy piece of real estate. I can’t let the sun shine on my panel, so my easel is often pointed one way while I’m looking another. I’d be doing that on a corner where people bump into each other all the time. The subject was good, but the logistics of painting it were dicey.
There is also a cart near Verdi Square at 70th and Amsterdam that looked like a good subject. No problems there. I wanted to depict the lighting many vendors use now, so I targeted late afternoon, dimming into dusk.
The vegetable carts are different from other street vendors in look and feel. Maybe it’s the natural colors, the stadium presentation, or the nod to another way. Perhaps one can sense the ghosts of pushcarts past, as if in the background a phantom horse-drawn trolley is navigating the teeming dirt streets, slipping through the turn-of-the-century.
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See more of Robert Beck’s work and visit his UWS studio at www.robertbeck.net. Let him know if you have a connection to an archetypical UWS place or event that would make a good West Side Canvas subject. Thank you!
Note: Before Robert Beck started West Side Canvas, his essays and paintings were featured in Weekend Column. See Robert Beck’s earlier columns here and here.
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Miss all the street vegetable and flower stands.
It’s a response to the very high prices of fruits and vegetables in grocery stores. I am glad they are there and it may encourage people to eat healthier foods.
Another wonderful glimpse into UWS life, both your painting and your thoughts about the vegetable stand vendors. Once when I was visiting New York, I went out to a vendor near the hotel to get some fresh fruit. The vendor and I got into a pleasant conversation as he put cherries into a bag for me. I had asked for a pound. When he weighed the bag, it was well over a pound. He just said “eh” and handed me the bag.
Thanks to Robert Beck for this behind-the-scenes description of the logistics of choosing a subject, and painting it. Esthetic issues (assessing the quality of light) combine with public considerations (concern about blocking sidewalks), and personal ones (how far the painting kit has to be hauled!)
It’s fascinating, and impressive, to understand how much pre-planning the artist does. And then, he paints! This insight into his thoughtful process makes the paintings even more enjoyable to me.
Love this subject. And love the carts. I always consider eating healthier when I pass one. Occasionally I even grab a piece of fruit for the walk.
So often, I have found that the produce sold at these carts are much fresher and superior to the produce found at Fairway, in particular the over-priced fruits.
In the 70s and into 80’s,,Fairway was special and and a destination spot for New Yorkers seeking high quality produce; the owners took pride in being able to offer such a wide variety of quality products. Now it’s just a madhouse with often moly and overpriced fruit and incredibly rude employees. I go there because I live a block away; West Side Market, the only alternative, is long gone. So sad that it has become so impersonal and so uncaring.
Once again, a brilliant piece of writing with astute observations of our fair city and a unique way of describing it all…I know how much you love the country but glad you are finding great adventures in the city!
From, Your Biggest Fan!