Charles Parsons painted these ice skaters in 1862, during the park’s infancy. Ice skating was quite a fad among middle- and upper-class New Yorkers at the time. Even the little dog on the right is getting into it.
Later this painting was made into a lithograph by Currier & Ives.
Tags: 19th century American painters, Central Park Winter, Charles Parsons, Currier & Ives, Ice skating in Central Park, ice skating in the 19th century, paintings of Central Park
Ephemeral New York 
November 25, 2009 at 1:42 pm |
This is how my grandparents met in the 1890’s. 🙂 Ice skating on a frozen lake.
November 25, 2009 at 7:43 pm |
Little Abe Relis here. i find it innerestin that they had iceskates for dogs back then. I don’t think they make em anymore.
January 18, 2010 at 4:22 pm |
I’m looking for a painting (not in the Currier & Ives style) that apprears to be around this same time period of two ice skaters, skating together, but facing each other while each is skating on one skate with the other leg extended. It seems to be in the similiar style of the famous painting of the minister skating all alone and obviously enjoying his skill! Any assistance would be appreciated.
November 4, 2010 at 10:17 pm |
Leisurely time in the late 19th century was starting to become more popular, especially for the upper-class citizens in America. This is because there were fewer hours spent working and more time for leisurely activities. One of the new “fads” in 1878 was figure skating. Many high-class people living in New York went figure skating for entertainment and it became a great way to socialize as well. It became extremely popular towards the early 1890’s. Starting in the 1900’s many skating clubs emerged for competitive figure skaters. More than 10,000 New Yorkers became members of these clubs. Watching figure skating also became a popular activity. During the wintertime in New York City most people went inside central park where there was a beautiful lake that froze over and people were able to skate on it. Central park was a wonderful place to go if you wanted to watch concerts or just sit on the benches and read a book. Having a figure skating rink inside the park gave the people living in New York City more opportunities for entertainment. In present day that same lake was bought by Donald Trump who named it Wollman Rink, also known as Trump Ice. He turned it into a huge skating club that includes a learn to skate program, junior academy for lower level skaters, and an elite academy for competitive higher-level skaters. Also, during the springtime there is an annual competition open to anyone who is a member of a skating club around the nation. Now, Wollman rink is used for recreational skating, competitive figure skating and hockey skating.