The Essence of New York City graphic arts. Speaking, in 1929, of the museums and private collections then available in the city, a French traveller contended that New York had become what "Rome was for Corot or Pous- sin."M The social and political upheavals in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s furthered the trend. By the mid-twentieth century, New York gave the appearance of becoming the refuge of Western culture. To some creative talents, it was now "the cultural center of the world." Cecil Beaton reported in 1947 that New Yorkers of that day had access to "the finest contemporary art." "In Winter there is almost too much good music," he wrote. "Foreign pianists, conductors, and singers are continually arriving and departing. The symphony concerts are of the highest quality in the world and Toscanini has as much fame as a cinema star and more power than most politicians. New York audiences are the most enthusiastic and critical in the world." This development, coming to flower in the mid-twentieth century, represents perhaps the most recently acquired ingredient of the city's personality. M This is a trait, however, which is closely related to an aspect of the local scene which has characterized the city from the beginning; and that is the ethnic variety of its population. Before the island trading post was a generation old, it was reported that eighteen languages were spoken in the vicinity. Before long, the religious tolerance of the community and its acceptance of nationality diversity—as well as the job opportunities it had available—attracted and held in the city many of the immigrants who were flooding American ports. Later arrivals found New York attractive because of its closeness to Europe; and in recent years, Europeans have swelled the city's population because of its proximity to the headquarters of the United Nations. Today, the abundance and variety of foreign-language newspapers, for sale at the street corner, the prevalence of restaurants, churches, and movie theatres catering to special nationality groups, and 88 Paul Morand, New York, tr. from the French by Hamish Miles (New York: 1930). 3°3- 84 Cecil Beaton, Portrait of New York (London: 1948), 121-22. 414