WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Rackstraw Downes

Rackstraw Downes

American, 1939

WA-00026902

PaintingRealism

Representation

None documented

Institutional Exhibitions

Works in Collection

Assets Indexed

Authority-backed Facts

Publications Referenced

80%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (3)

WikidataQ7279809 ULAN500075282

MoMA

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Landscape

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1972

Field Verification (3 fields)

3 cross-verified · 0 single-source

BiographyMoMA· 93%✓
Birth yearArtsy· 85%✓
NationalityArtsy· 85%✓

Source Registry (1)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/1605
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

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 1mo ago

Graph relationships

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

WattsOS

Under the Gowanus, Sketch for Part 3 (2 Pieces)

1998 · graphite on blue, laid paper

Sheet: 24 x 50.2 cm (9 7/16 x 19 3/4 in.); Image: 24 x 50.2 cm (9 7/16 x 19 3/4 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Canal Homes at Bayou Vista

1993 · Oil on canvas

11 1/4" x 10' 1/2" (28.5 x 306 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

WattsOS

From 75 Varick to the Holland Tunnel Entrance

1988 · Oil on canvas

23 1/8 x 72" (58.7 x 182.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

WattsOS

Irving Trust, College of Insurance and a Flight into Newark

1986 · Soft ground etching and aquatint

plate 11 7/8 x 18" (30.1 x 45.8 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

WattsOS

IRT Elevated Station at Broadway and 125th Street

1981 · Oil on canvas

25 × 47 1/2 in. (63.5 × 120.7 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

WattsOS

Lincolnville Beach

1977 · Oil on canvas

12 1/4 × 44 1/2 in. (31.1 × 113 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

View all 14 artworks →

Artwork sources (4)

14 published of 17 catalogued · 4 with image

Cleveland Museum of Art
7 published
MoMA
3 publishedof 6 catalogued3 img
The Met
3 published
Art Institute Chicago
1 published1 img

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 7)

7 entries · 1 sources

Under the Gowanus on Hamilton Avenue
1999 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Under the Gowanus on Hamilton Avenue: Part 2: Pedestrian Crossing at Garnet Street Looking Southeast
1999 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Under the Gowanus, First Sketch for Part 2 (2 Pieces)
1999 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Under the Gowanus on Hamilton Avenue: Part 4: On the Median Strip at W.9th Street Looking Southeast
1999 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Under the Gowanus, Sketch for Part 3 (2 Pieces)
1998 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Under the Gowanus on Hamilton Avenue: Part 3: At the Corner of Court Street Looking Southeast
1999 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
A Page of maps showing where the artist stood while working on the four partsof "Under the Gowanus on Hamilton Avenue"
1999 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Artsy

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

Movements1

Realism

Collections4

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

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