Visions of America

Changes roared into the United States in the 1920s. During World War I, from 1914 to 1918, many factories in Europe were destroyed. After the war, Europe looked to America for goods. To meet that demand, factories sprang up across the country. New factories meant new jobs. And Americans moved from farms to cities in droves to fill those jobs. At the same time, newly arrived immigrants also helped cities grow.

America was transforming from a mainly rural society to an urban one. And its changing landscape fascinated a group of American artists, including Charles Sheeler, whose work is shown here. These artists would later be called Precisionists. Today historians recognize Precisionism as one of the first art movements by American artists in response to the American experience.

In the 1920s, the United States was changing. New factories were being built across the country. Many Americans moved from farms to cities to work in the factories. Immigrants were also arriving from other countries, helping cities grow.

America had been a mostly rural society. This meant that American life relied on the countryside. But America was transforming into an urban society. This fascinated a group of American artists, who would later be called Precisionists. The group included Charles Sheeler, whose work is shown here. Precisionism is now considered one of the first American art movements about the American experience.

Though the U.S. was becoming a supplier to the world, many Americans were wary of globalism and wanted to shape a new national identity—one that emphasized grit. The Precisionists looked back at American decorative arts—such as furniture and textiles made during the colonial era, when importing goods was expensive and difficult—as proof of that American spirit.

Sheeler’s 1931 Americana, above, features items from his personal collection of American decorative arts. The composition’s perspective is offkilter. The table seems to tilt upward so the background is as prominent as the foreground. The flattened colors, lack of people, and simplified details create a cool Precisionist detachment from the subject.

American factories started supplying goods to other countries in the 1920s. This connected the U.S. to more places around the world. Many Americans also wanted to maintain their own identity. To capture the American spirit, Precisionists studied American decorative arts. These were goods, like furniture and fabrics, that were handmade during the colonial era.

Sheeler’s 1931 painting Americana, above, shows some items from his own collection of decorative arts. The flat colors, lack of people, and simplified details create a sense of distance from the subjects.

Like other Precisionists, Sheeler pushed conventions, using flat colors to reduce his subjects to their most basic geometric forms. This often gave his works an abstract feel.

At first glance, the artist’s 1951 New York No. 2, above, seems to be a composition of unrelated geometric shapes. But closer inspection reveals buildings soaring away from the viewer. The overlapping planes of color appear fractured or distorted. Sheeler reduces each building to its most necessary elements to render the structures rising above him.

Sheeler and his fellow Precisionists, including Georgia O’Keeffe and Charles Demuth, never created a formal group like artists of other artistic movements. Instead, their lean style and focus on the changing American landscape documents a period of renewed American identity and links them in their artistic goals.

Like other Precisionists, Sheeler used flat colors to reduce his subjects to basic geometric forms. This often made his works more abstract, or more focused on shape and color.

Look at his 1951 painting New York No. 2, above. At first, you may just see geometric shapes. Look again. Do you see tall buildings? The overlapping areas of color make the buildings look fractured. Sheeler includes only the towers’ most essential shapes to show them rising above him.