City Interior

Artist Charles Sheeler (American, 1883–1965)

Date1936

Mediumaqueous adhesive and oil on composition board

Dimensionspanel: 56.2 x 68.4 cm (22 1/8 x 26 15/16 in.)
framed: 77.6 × 92.7 cm (30 9/16 × 36 1/2 in.)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineElizabeth M. Sawyer Fund in memory of Jonathan and Elizabeth M. Sawyer

Terms

Object number1937.3

Label TextThough Sheeler had studied painting with the American Impressionist William Merritt Chase at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, his work as a commercial photographer led him to develop a photo-realistic style—known as Precisionism—in his mature work. In 1927, just prior to Ford Motor Company’s introduction of the Model A, Sheeler was commissioned to create advertising photographs of the industrial giant’s River Rouge plant outside Detroit, Michigan. These images later served as source material for paintings, including this one. Sheeler was impressed by the magnitude of the factory complex as well as its design and technology. Spotless under brilliant sunlight, Sheeler’s factory scene expresses an optimistic view of industrial progress at a time when the Great Depression and Dust Bowl had devastated rural America.ProvenanceDowntown Gallery, New York NY

On View

Not on view