WSU 2Ü3l Century Art •# WORKING AMERICA: INDUSTRIAL IMAGERY IN AMERICAN PRINTS, 1900-1940 22 March - 22 May 1983 First Floor American Wing Metropolitan Museum of Art Modern Art Library THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART The Library PRESENTED BY William S. Lieberman Smoking steel mills and factory assembly lines, skyscrapers and bridges under construction, pneumatic drill operators and arc welders are images that do not conform to the traditional subject matter of American art. Yet, by 1900, increasing urbanization and rapid industrial growth had become a vital part of American life and, correspondingly, of its art. Writers, dramatists, painters, photographers, and printmakers responded to these new stimuli. For printmakers, such as Joseph Pennell and B. J. 0. Nordfeldt, the billowing smoke from factories possessed a man-made beauty rivaling the best of nature. For others, the new buildings that pierced city skies inspired works recording a new group of cathedral builders scurrying about on catwalks far above city streets. By the outbreak of World War II industrial imagery was as viable a part of the American scene as pastoral pursuits. Artists, active in the various programs of the Works Progress Admin­ istration (WPA), were encouraged by the government to portray contemporary American life. The programs promoted arts for the people, whether murals in a post office or prints decorating a hospital ward. Bridge building, pipe-laying, and road construction, blast furnaces and mines were among the subjects explored by the printmakers associated with these programs. Some printmakers chose to examine the social issues of American industry, while others looked to the industrial landscape as the genesis for abstraction. The WPA also supported the development and the revival of printmaking techniques. Printmaking workshops were set up in various regional centers and printers and printmakers were encouraged to experiment. The 1930s not only saw the revival of fine color lithography but also the adaptation of silkscreen from a strictly commercial process to a valid method for producing fine prints in color. The new subject matter and the experimentation with printmaking techniques have had an effect on printmaking to this day. David W. Kiehl Assistant Curator Department of Prints and Photographs page 3 IDA ABELMAN (born in 1910) Construction lithograph, 1939 Gift of WPA-New York Project, 1943 43.33.741 ABRAHAM AJAY (born in 1919) Heavy Industry lithograph, about 1937-39 Gift of WPA-New York Project, 1943 43.33.428 PERCY F. ALBEE (1883-1959) Controlled Energy lithograph, 1921 Gift of Grace A. Albee, in memory of Percy F. Albee, 1962 62.606.54 This print is annotated, "Gas Furnace, R. I." JAMES E. ALLEN (1894-1964) Arch of Steel lithograph, 1937 The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1981 1981.1216.3 JAMES E. ALLEN (1894-1964) locomotive Engine Aloft* lithograph, about 1940 Stewart S. MacDermott Fund, 1980 1980.1024 JAMES E. ALLEN (1894-1964) Pipeline S-Curve. lithograph, ¿tuut 1940 113T The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1981 1981.1216.2 JAMES E. ALLEN (1894-1964) Teeming Ingots etching, 1935 Museum Accession, 1968 68.796 page 4 WILL BARNET (born in 1911) Labor etching and aquatint, 1935 Gift of WPA-New York Project, 1943 43.33.213 BERNECE BERKMAN (born in 1911) W.P.A. Leaners on Shovels lithograph, 1938 Gift of Peter Pollack, 1960 60.522.19 SAUL BERMAN (born in 1899) Sewerage Construction etching, 1939 Gift of WPA-New York Project, 1943 43.33.249 DAVID BURKE (active 1930s) Coal Mining woodcut printed in color, about 1935-37 Gift of WPA-New York Project, 1943 43.33.958 HOWARD NORTON COOK (1901-1980) Engine Room wood-engraving, 1931 Gift of Weyhe Gallery, 1931 31.122 MICHAEL J. GALLAGHER (boim-in 1898) Mine Accident lithograph, about 1935-39 Gift of Pennsylvania WPA, 1943 43.46.56 CHARLES REED GARDNER (born in 1901) Steel—Tapping the Furnace wood-engraving, about 1935-39 Gift of Pennsylvania WPA, 1943 43.46.127 GERALD K. GEERLINGS (born in 1897) Olympus drypoint on blue paper, 1929 Gift of Allen T. Terrell, in memory of Clarence John Marsman, 1969 69.504.25 page 5 LEON GILMOUR (born in 1907) Cement Finishers wood-engraving, 1939 Max D. Wildnauer Fund, 1983 1983.1049 HARRY GOTTLIEB (born in 1895) Rock Drillers color silkscreen, after 1938 Gift of WPA-New York Project, 1943 43.33.946 HARRY GOTTLIEB (born in 1895) Zinc Plant lithograph, about 1935-39 Gift of WPA-New York Project, 1943 43.33.1149 BLANCHE M. GRAMBS (born in 1916) Coal Cars lithograph, 1937 Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1940 40.111.57 BLANCHE M. GRAMBS (born in 1916) Miner's Head aquatint, about 1937 Gift of WPA-New York Project, 1943 43.33.898 BLANCHE M. GRAMBS (born in 1916) Miners aquatint, about 1937 Gift of WPA-New York Project, 1943 43.33.902 JOLAN GROSS-BETTELHEIM (born in 1902) Industrial Section lithograph, about 1935-39 Gift of WPA Allocation Unit, Washington, D.C, 1943 43.47.217 borh in 111+ x LEONARD HAVENS (aofeivc 1930a 40s) Moles lithograph, 1940 Gift of WPA Allocation Unit, Washington, D.C., 1943 43.47.282 page 6 PETER HELCK (bum In 1093) Fast Freight lithograph, 1938 Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1943 43.20.4 1883- iqTi- CARL HOECKNER (born in 1883) Steel Rhythms lithograph, about 1937 Gift of Peter Pollack, 1960 60.522.34 1101- M&q IRWIN D. HOFFMAN (btrm in 1901) Cigarette Underground etching, 1938 Stewart S. MacDermott Fund, 1983 1983.1050.1 DON C. KINCAID (active 1930s) Into the Ground linoleum cut, 1937 Gift of Missouri WPA, 1943 43.28.6 DON C. KINCAID (active 1930s) The Last Load linoleum cut, 1937 Gift of Missouri WPA, 1943 43.28.5 ADOLPH J. KOPY (formerly Kopcak, born in 1895) In the Shadow of the Giants etching, aquatint, and roulette work, about 1935 Gift of the artist, 1964 64.630.6 KALMAN KUBINYI (1906-1974) Cuyahoga offset soft ground, about 1937-39 Gift of WPA Allocation Unit, Washington, D.C, 1943 43.47.28 Much of industrial Cleveland lines the banks of the Cuyahoga River. KALMAN KUBINYI (1906-1974) Unemployed Worker offset soft ground, about 1937-39 Gift of WPA Allocation Unit, Washington, D.C,, 1943 43.47.27 page 7 VWL - \<\ZQ, HERSCHEL LEVIT (bora in 191») r^-fffit, Take It Away! lithograph, about 1940 Gift of Dr. Joseph I. Singer, 1983 1983.1048 MARTIN LEWIS (1882-1962) Derricks drypoint, 1927 The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1967 67.715.5 LOUIS LOZOWICK (1892-1973) Bridge Repairs lithograph, 1938 The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1963 63.509.17 This print is also known as Repairing Brooklyn Bridger LOUIS LOZOWICK (1892-1973) Night Repairs color lithograph, 1939 Gift of WPA-New York Project, 1943 43.33.1181 LOUIS LOZOWICK (1892-1973) Oil Country lithograph, 1936 Museum Accession, 1962 62.695.53 LOUIS LOZOWICK (.1,892-1973) Pneumatic Drill lithograph, 1934 Lent by the United States Government (Public Works of Art Project, New York Regional Committee), 1934 L.3361 (34.104.42) LOUIS LOZOWICK (1892-1973) Roof and Street lithograph, 1938 Gift of WPA-New York Project, 1943 43.33.76 This print is also known as Construction Workers, page 8 HARRY F. MACK (born in 1907) Arc Welder etching and aquatint, about 1935-39 Gift of WPA-New York Project, 1943 43.33.258 HARRY F. MACK (born in 1907) Cranes etching and aquatint, about 1935-39 Gift of WPA-New York Project, 1943 43.33.141 HARRY F. MACK (born in 1907) Night Shift etching and aquatint, about 1935-39 Gift of WPA-New York Project, 1943 43.33.259 S. L. MARGOLIES (1898-1974) Builders of Babylon aquatint, about 1937 Gift of Associated American Artists, 1954 54.647.94 S. L. MARGOLIES (1898-1974) Floodlights etching and aquatint, about 1937-39 Gift of Associated American Artists, 1954 54.647.65 S. L. MARGOLIES (1989-1974) Men of Steel drypoint, 1939 Gift of Associated American Artists, 1954 54.647.97 REGINALD MARSH (1898-1954) Erie R. R. Locos Watering etching, 1934 Gift of the Honorable William Benton, 1959 59.609.11 CHARLES F. W. MIELATZ (1864-1919) Building the Hellgate Bridge etching, 1915-16 Purchase, Robert B. Dodson Gift, 1931 31.40.59 page 9 HOfe-H+fr ARTHUR C. MURPHY (born in 1906) Bridge Worker, No. 6 lithograph, about 1935-37 Gift of WPA Allocation Unit, Washington, D. C, 1943 43.47.311 JOHN J. A. MURPHY (1888-1967) Men Digging woodcut, 1923 Gift of the artist, 1962 62.620.80 JOHN J. A. MURPHY (1888-1967) The Slave woodcut, about 1910 Gift of the artist, 1962 62.620.5 The seated laborer recalls Goya's aquatint, The Giant. JOHN J. A. MURPHY (1888-1967) Workers Mixing Concrete Bulldozers woodcuts, 1919 Gift of the artist, 1966 66.579.22, .24 These are two cuts from a set of ten commissioned by the Aberthaw Construction Company. B. J. 0. NORDFELDT (1878-1955) Calumet River, Chicago drypoint, 1911 Gift of Mrs. B. J. 0. Nordfeldt, 1955 55.634.128 B. J. 0. NORDFELDT (1878-1955) Five O'clock, Chicago drypoint, about 1911 Gift of Mrs. B. J. 0. Nordfeldt, 1974 1974.601.146 B. J. 0. NORDFELDT (1878-1955) Gas Tank Town, Chicago drypoint, 1911 Gift of Mrs. B. J. 0. Nordfeldt, 1974 1974.601.145 page 10 B. J. 0. NORDFELDT (1878-1955) Open Hearth Furnace, Chicago drypoint, 1911 Gift of Mrs. B. J. 0. Nordfeldt, 1974 1974.601.132 I840-IU1 OTIS 0LDFIELD (born in 1890) Bay Bridge Series lithograph, about 1935-37 Gift of WPA Allocation Unit, Washington, D.