Artist’s Statement

‘Tenement Life and Games’ is a pause in time that NYC will never see again. This painting took me 15 years to paint because of all the research needed. With every sale, I attach a two-page typed document explaining each subject in the painting.

Another important fact is that tenements had rent control to keep rents down for struggling families to survive. I always felt rent control was like a launching pad to prosperity, and because of rent control, the children of these laborers and factory workers were able to save and buy houses and eventually send their children to private schools.

I painted this genre oil painting on a 30×40 canvas. It portrays life in NYC tenements, as I remember it, before air conditioning and television. The people in this painting, for the most part, were laborers and factory workers. With money so scarce for store bought toys, the children became very inventive in making their environment exciting.

–Demerah Campbell