The Winter Art Show

When Marsden Hartley painted this definitive homage to a cocktail in 1916, it was almost inevitable that he should choose the Manhattan as his subject. In his Stork Club Bar Book of 1946, Lucius Beebe, who by then had forged perhaps the most repellent prose style ever attempted by an American, explained: “Because of its unrivaled tonic qualities as a restorative and element for firming the moral fiber, as well as because of the prevailing American taste for drinks with whisky bases at this time, the classic and standard Manhattan cocktail, precisely as it is served at this red hot minute at the Stork Club, was an almost universal rite until the end of the nineteenth century.… Whatever may be the present vogue for Martinis … make no mistake about it: the Manhattan was the archetypal short mixed drink and blazed a trail for all others to follow.” Here is the Stork Club’s recipe:

2/3 oz. rye whisky 1/3 oz. Italian vermouth Decorate with maraschino cherry, stir, and serve in 3 oz. cocktail glass.