A collection of early images that show the construction and evolution of the New York City subways from 1900.

“It seems funny to say it, but long before there was an ‘art world,’ there was art in the world.” So begins the artist and writer Russell Connor’s meditative tour of public art in New York City. In this time of social distancing, virtually wander the streets and parks of early 1970s Manhattan, from Grand Army Plaza to Wall Street. Local artists feature alongside works by Pablo Picasso, Louise Nevelson, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Alexander Calder, Romare Bearden and more.

New York City. Wall Street. The epicenter of American Finance and economic power, and one of the most iconic cities in the history of the world. It's home to the headquarters of the biggest investment banks on earth like JP Morgan and Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs, the headquarters for the behemoth of the asset management world Black Rock, and it's home to the biggest stock exchanges in the world including the NASDAQ and of course the New York Stock Exchange which commands 42.4% of global market capitalization all worth $ 46.7 trillion as of 2023. But it wasn't always this powerful. But it wasn't always this powerful and it hasn't always been the financial capital of the world it simply holds that title today.