James E. Allen, American, 1894-1964: Teeming Ingots; etching. From the John P. Eckblad Collection.
|
At the Heart of Progress examines the legacy of coal, iron, and steam
through a wide-ranging presentation of prints drawn from the distinguished
collection of John P. Eckblad. The prints vary from small, delicate
etchings to brightly colored lithographic posters. Some were
made as fine art, others as documentation, but in these works creativity
and accuracy are complementaries, not opposites. Commercial,
documentary, and artistic considerations exist side by side. At the
Heart of Progress tells one of the crucial stories of the Industrial Revolution:
how the power of coal, iron, and steam began as an exotic addition
to human life and progressed to an all-encompassing framework
for western civilization. Visitors will engage with prints by British,
French, and American artists from 1750 to the 1990s, arranged to
emphasize different aspects of heavy industry: mining, iron and steel
production, power and machinery, and the transformation of life and
society in an industrialized world. The exhibition concludes with a
group of late-twentieth-century works that confront the decline of
heavy industry in Europe and America.
Exhibition Schedule and Availability
January 22, 2010 to March 21, 2010: Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center; Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
October 19, 2010 to January 23, 2011: Palmer Museum of Art; The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
March 2011 to June 2011: available
July 2011 to October 2011: available
|
