The Revitalist

Mosaics in the 86th Street station.

... the New York Transit Museum has opened "Squire Vickers and the Subway's Modern Age," which is the second part of an exhibition on the subway's architecture and design. Vickers, who was also a painter, served as the system's lead designer for almost 30 years, in the 1910's, 20's and 30's. His work, which included a large number of mosaics (inexpensive, durable and easy to clean, as well as, beautiful), was heavily influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement and provided a Modern counterpoint to the subway's original Beaux-Arts designs. "Instead of disguising the steel and concrete structure of the subway, Arts and Crafts design allowed Vickers to celebrate the subway’s underlying industrial character, exposing concrete vaulted ceilings and leaving steel girders unadorned," says the exhibition curator.