The Blizzard of '98

My usual source of inspiration for paintings is old archival pics, but occasionally I'll also find fascinating subjects trapped within the fleeting frames of old motion pictures.  Such was the case with this small 8 x 10 piece, "The Blizzard of '98". 
Whilst browsing Youtube one day I happened upon an old film of snowbound New York in 1898.  I was immediately struck by the soft, dreamy beauty of this ancient footage.  But even more so my eye was taken by the lively activities of the people within, as they went about their daily life.  The clip is an incredible blend of men, women, children, police, dogs, wagons, snow-clearing equipment, trams and horses all coping with the snowbound streets around Union Square.  The blizzard seems to have hardly impacted the city's daily bustle. 
Some moments of note:  the young boy wiping out at :37.  The wagon full of kegs at :47, possibly transporting warming spirits to a nearby tavern.  And the man at 1:04, playfully running and sliding across a patch of ice. 
Whenever I look at films like these, it reminds me of the fleeting nature of our existence.  But for the presence of an early camera, on that particular morning, in that particular place 120 years ago, I would never have witnessed that whimsical moment of the man sliding at 1:04.  Who this man was is impossible to know, but his simple act of spontaneous fun we can all identify with...and suddenly our bond with him leaps across the decades. 
Every single person and animal in this clip is now dead (a morbid point that I invariably raise when watching something like this and that invariably prompts an eye-roll from my wife when I do).  They are all gone now.  Lived their lives.  Took part in millions of banal everyday actions like sliding on a patch of ice.  The man who did so couldn't possibly have fathomed that his tiny act of momentary fun would live on 120 years later, to be written about on this strange thing called 'the internet'. 
 He is physically long gone, but his spirit remains, performing his simple act on endless loop, popping up out of nowhere then vanishing again.  A phantom. 
But we caught him, for a moment anyways.  Him and all his fellow travelers.  Preserved forever on celluloid and canvas now too. 

 

Link to the film clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCBLXnjhM1c