Larchmont Flag House Rendered By Professional Location Artist

For the past 29 years—the length of time the Hoffman family has resided at 24 Helena Ave. in Larchmont—a large-scale, approximately 20-foot long American flag has graced the side of their house that overlooks the street. The flag is a tradition born of patriotism and a family history of military service. According to Laura Hoffman, the former Chief of Hand Therapy at New York Presbyterian Hospital and current resident of the home, the flying of the flag is at least, in part, an homage to her grandfather, who had a similar tradition throughout his life.

The large flags have taken a beating from constant exposure to the elements, only lasting—on average—about a year each. Hoffman has given a number of retired flags away and donated the rest to the local VFW post for proper disposal. 

The interior of the house is a further testament to the Hoffman’s love of art, with many works displayed conveying the family’s love for Larchmont. The first floor bathroom is covered in a mural that mimics Hoffman’s daily walking route around Manor Park. Many of the other paintings are of the house itself—in various styles and motifs—done by local artists and friends who have been captivated by the beauty of the Larchmont Flag House, as it was aptly named by a friendly clergymen some years ago.

Hoffman, whose children are grown, has decided it’s time for a change and has put the house on the market. In keeping with the tradition of the portraits of the house— and as a final memento—the Hoffman family has decided to have three paintings commissioned for each angle of the house. E.C., Hoffman’s son, hooked up with artist Jason Borbay while playing hockey in New York City, and, soon thereafter, he was given the assignment.

Borbay’s route to becoming an artist was far from straightforward. After graduating from Boston College, he had brief stints on a reality television show and as a stand up comic before going to work for the Trump Corporation doing legal work and some licensing. After two years at Trump, Borbay spent some time as an advertising recruiter and executive before a vacation to Hawaii with his fiancé convinced him he needed to turn his painting hobby into a career. Borbay now does between 50 and 70 paintings a year in his unique style, which often employs the use of New York Post headlines as a collage underneath and in his paintings. He was named Time Out New York’s Most Creative New Yorker in 2009. 

Many of Borbay’s recent works center around the hip-hop celebrities—Kayne West, P.Diddy, and Jay-Z—and landmarks that define New York City, such as the tree-lined streets of the Upper East Side, the Central Park Boathouse or the Empire State Building.  His colorfully rendered canvases are a juxtaposition of the familiar with the unexpected. “Empire State of Mine-Time Out New York” for example, mixes a familiar image—with a title that resembles the popular Jay-Z song "Empire State of Mind"—of the Time Out New York building with compelling headlines and dialogue like “You’re gonna’ die” and “Granny get your gun saga” to further draw the viewer in.

Hoffman describes Borbay’s work as “Warhorlesque”—perhaps for his pop culture influence—except with more “continuity and optimism.” Borbay describes himself as a “professional location artist” and says his favorite part of his work is that he gets to, “build something for myself.” Though not all of his work involves the use of newspaper headlines, Borbay likes to include them because, he said, “they make no sense but we accept them as perfectly logical.”

When Borbay painted the Flag House, he did so from the other side of the street to give the point of view of an outsider but, “with the perspective of the people who lived in it.”  Borbay spent an afternoon with the Hoffmans at their home to try to determine what they wanted captured in the paintings, though he admits that all of his work ultimately involves “how I feel about it.” 

Borbay completed the first painting in the series in early June and is currently working on the next two.

More information on Borbay and a video he took of himself painting the Flag House can be found on his website here.