Rooftops by Katherine Webb

Katherine Webb (American, active early–mid 20th century)
Rooftops
Gouache on paper
17 × 25 in.
Signed lower-right

Painted from an elevated vantage point, Rooftops presents a compressed urban landscape of tightly packed buildings and receding streets. Webb uses simplified forms and a restrained palette to emphasize structure, rhythm, and atmosphere rather than architectural detail. The opaque handling of gouache lends solidity to the buildings while softening the city’s edges, creating a quiet, observational view of urban life.

Webb’s focus on everyday city architecture places her within a broader tradition of early twentieth-century American painters who documented modern urban environments. Rooftop views such as this were especially common among artists working in major cities, where industrial growth and dense neighborhoods offered new compositional possibilities. The work reflects a practical, direct engagement with the built environment typical of American urban realism of the period.