- The Museum of the City of New York has opened a new exhibition entitled ‘Preservation in Progress: Picturing Immigration’
- The exhibition honors the conservation of Samuel Bell Waugh’s monumental painting, The Bay and Harbor of New York
- The grand opening coincides with the anniversary of April 17, 1907 – the busiest day ever recorded at Ellis Island
The Museum of the City of New York is launching a new exhibit to mark the anniversary of Ellis Island’s busiest day ever on April 17, 1907.
Preservation in Progress: Picturing Immigration is an installation that offers visitors an exclusive glimpse into the preservation of one of the museum’s most prized possessions: Samuel Bell Waugh’s monumental painting, The Bay and Harbor of New York.
The exhibition explores the painting’s significance as one of the earliest depictions of immigration to the United States and as a historical document.
The museum also features striking photographs of crowds arriving in America – as individuals flocked to the Big Apple “in search of freedom, safety and new beginnings.”
Visitors can view this exhibition until October 13, 2024.
Samuel Bell Waugh’s monumental painting, The Bay and Harbor of New York, provides a rare representation of early immigration
On April 17, 1907, Ellis Island processed 11,747 immigrants
On average, Ellis Island would process 5,000 immigrants per day
According to the Ellis Island Foundation, in April 1907, the Port of New York received 197 ships and more than a quarter of a million passengers from around the world.
A total of 1,004,756 immigrants were processed in the year 1907
An exterior photo of the facade of the Immigration Inspection Station at Ellis Island, known as the French Renaissance Revival Building, from 1907
Ellis Island was the gateway to New York City between 1892 and 1954 for 12 million immigrants who passed through to start a new life in America
Pictured: A large group of immigrants lined up outside waiting to be taken off Ellis Island, by Edwin Levick, Ellis Island, New York, 1907
Pictured: A group of women and children eating a meal on Ellis Island, the long wooden tables close together to accommodate as many people as possible in this dining room
Today, the 27.5-acre island still greets some two million tourists a year, and underwent a $160 million renovation in 1990 to accommodate the visitors.
Pictured: the cubicles in the Ellis Island Registry Room (or Great Hall), all filled with immigrants
While first- and second-class passengers arriving in the US were considered wealthy enough to be examined on ships bound for America, poorer passengers underwent inspections at Ellis Island.
Most succeeded within hours, but others could be held for days or weeks
Pictured: A vintage 1891 American political cartoon, ‘Where The Blame Lies’, with the caption: Judge (to Uncle Sam) – ‘If immigration were properly restricted you would no longer have to deal with anarchy, socialism, the mafia and similar evils!”
In the photo: a family taking all their belongings off the boat in 1905
Pictured: Immigrants stand outside a building on Ellis Island with suitcases in 1907
A flyer advertising a viewing of one of Waugh’s artworks, known for his landscapes and moving panoramic paintings
The massive wave of immigration ended after the passage of the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the National Origins Act of 1924, which limited the number and nationality of immigrants entering the United States.