Sullivan Street, Abstraction illustrates Ault's interest in the dark and mysterious aspects of urban structures. Set in his neighborhood of Greenwich Village, the painting portrays Sullivan Street as desolate and enveloped in hazy darkness. In his words: "The village . . . is never romantic at noon . . . . The city needs haze. In this harsh light you see all the ugly details--you see the city crumbling to pieces." In the painting, the only source of light comes from the central, seemingly static subway car and the eerie glow of the street lamps that hang in space like a ghostly collection of stars. In effect, Ault employs Precisionist style and subject matter, but depicts the urban scene with a dreamlike, surreal quality.