Images of Industry

Industrial subject matter has fascinated artists since the dawn of the industrial revolution in eighteenth-century Europe. Artistic responses have run the gamut from representing the sites of industrial activity with awe and wonder, to ennobling the labor of industrial workers, to highlighting the environmental impact of industry and industrial by-products. The following works from the Museum’s collections represent a cross section of such artistic responses, which offer a historical context to the exhibition Rouge: Michael Kenna.

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A Papal audience; Verso: study of a machine: anatomical study of the male leg and its bones
A Papal audience; Verso: study of a machine: anatomical study of the male leg and its bones,
Hand and machine
Hand and machine, ca. 1905
Sadie Pfeifer, 48 inches high, has worked half a year. One of the many small children at work in Lancaster Cotton Mills
Sadie Pfeifer, 48 inches high, has worked half a year. One of the many small children at work in Lancaster Cotton Mills, 1908
Adolescent Girl, a Spinner, in a Carolina Cotton Mill
Adolescent Girl, a Spinner, in a Carolina Cotton Mill, 1908
Operator in Old-Time Cotton Mill
Operator in Old-Time Cotton Mill, 1910
An Industrial Design
An Industrial Design, 1920
Man with Wrench
Man with Wrench, 1920
Mechanic in His Shrine: The Heart of the Turbine Power House, Pennsylvania Railroad
Mechanic in His Shrine: The Heart of the Turbine Power House, Pennsylvania Railroad, 1920
Man on girders, mooring mast, Empire State Building
Man on girders, mooring mast, Empire State Building, ca. 1931
Derrick Man
Derrick Man, ca. 1931
Guiding a beam, Empire State Building
Guiding a beam, Empire State Building, ca. 1931