Industrial Inspiration

Early in his career, Demuth focused on watercolor paintings of flowers. After spending time in Paris, he began experimenting with oil painting in a more abstract style, taking inspiration from Cubism—an artistic movement that emphasized geometry and fractured planes.

As American industry boomed during the 1920s, Demuth painted industrial scenes near his home in Lancaster. For example, his 1921 Incense of a New Church, above, depicts the Lukens steel yards in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. Demuth uses dramatic organic forms to show the smoke from the steel yards curling upward in the foreground and the dark silhouettes of buildings rising in the background.

The painting’s title, Incense of a New Church, hints at Demuth’s opinion of society’s changing values at the time. By comparing the smoke produced in the steel yards to incense—an aromatic substance burned during some religious ceremonies—he seems to say that manufacturing was replacing religion at the heart of American life.

After visiting Paris, Demuth explored an abstract style similar to Cubism. This artistic movement emphasized geometric shapes and forms that looked fractured.

The artist watched American industries soar during the 1920s. His 1921 painting Incense of a New Church, above, depicts the Lukens steel yards in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. Demuth uses organic forms to show the smoke from the steel yards curling around the city.

The title Incense of a New Church compares the smoke to incense, a fragrant substance burned during some religious ceremonies. Demuth suggests that industries were replacing religion in American life.

Demuth continues to ask questions about modern life in his 1927 My Egypt, above, which depicts a steel grain elevator in Lancaster. The massive structure looms over the smaller buildings in the foreground, which represent small family farms that were the agricultural centers of the past. Intersecting geometric planes add movement and illuminate the elevator.

By naming Egypt in the painting’s title, Demuth compares the grain elevator to Egypt’s great pyramids. He might even be making a connection between the harsh conditions endured by the enslaved people who built the pyramids and the American workers on factory lines. Easily recognizable shapes that read like flags, banners, seating, and lights appear throughout the composition. Mehretu also adds shapes and symbols that might remind you of corporate logos. Notice the colorful lines and dots throughout the work. How does their repetition create a sense of rhythm?

Demuth continued to question modern life in his 1927 painting My Egypt, above. He paints a steel grain elevator in Lancaster. The structure looms in the background. The smaller buildings represent family farms that had once been the heart of American agriculture. He intersects geometric planes to guide the viewer’s eye to the elevator. Demuth shows how industrial farming was expanding.

The word Egypt in the title compares the grain elevator to Egypt’s pyramids. What does comparing the modern structure to ancient monuments communicate?

Demuth also innovated a new type of portrait. I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold, completed in 1928, is a symbolic portrait of the poet William Carlos Williams, one of Demuth’s good friends. This painting, above, is one of eight symbolic portraits that Demuth painted honoring great American writers, performers, and artists.

Instead of painting Williams’s likeness, Demuth uses imagery from his poem “The Great Figure,” which describes a racing fire engine. The repeated number 5, intersecting lines, and bold colors evoke the poem’s energy and speed.

This work is different from the others shown. What makes it Precisionist?

Demuth also invented a new type of portrait. He completed I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold, above, in 1928. It’s a symbolic portrait of Demuth’s friend, the poet William Carlos Williams. Instead of trying to capture Williams’s appearance, Demuth focuses on the poet’s ideas. He uses imagery from a Williams poem called “The Great Figure.” The poem describes a racing fire engine labeled with the number 5. Demuth includes the number 5, intersecting lines, and bold colors. This captures the poem’s energy and a fire engine’s speed.

This work is different from the others shown here. But they still share things in common. What Precisionist techniques do you see?