Homeless Home

New York, New York, USA

Removed 2020

The Disappointed Tourist: Homeless Home, Ellen Harvey, 2023. Oil and acrylic on Gessoboard, 24 x 18″ (61 x 46 cm). Photograph: Etienne Frossard.

This bundle of belongings could be found in New York’s East Village throughout 2020. It belonged to a homeless man who carefully reattached it each day. The painting is based on a photograph by Jan B., who passed it daily and noticed its absence.

The abode built by the homeless man on Avenue A was removed by the sanitation department today – heartbreaking. Jan B.