Charles Sheeler
Manchester
1948
Scroll
Charles Sheeler
Manchester
1948
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, Framed: 33 x 27 7/8 x 3 in. (83.8 x 70.8 x 7.6 cm) Sight: 24 1/2 x 19 1/4 in. (62.2 x 48.9 cm)
Credit Line
Edward Joseph Gallagher III Memorial Collection
Object Number
1960.2
This painting depicts the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company on the Merrimack River, once the largest cotton textile plant in the world. At its peak—half a century before Charles Sheeler’s arrival in Manchester, New Hampshire—the company employed some 17,000 textile mill workers and occupied 30 buildings.
Newer technologies such as automatic looms and electricity ultimately led Amoskeag to file for bankruptcy in 1935.
Sheeler’s representation of the site seems far removed from its previous success, imbuing the abandoned complex with a ghostly emptiness. The image is softened by semi-transparent shadows that overlap hard edges, revealing the impact of Sheeler’s experiments in photomontage, a process of producing
a single photographic print from two or three negatives sandwiched together in an enlarger.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1960, and on loan, 1955-1960; from Edward Joseph Gallagher, Jr., Baltimore
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN. "5th Walker Biennial of American Painting," 1950.
California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA. "5th Annual," 1952.
Randolph-Macon Women's College, Lynchburg, VA. "43rd Annual," 1954.
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA. "151st Annual Exhibition of Oil Paintings and Sculpture," 22 Jan--26 Feb 1956.
White House Executive Office, Washington, DC. 19 Apr--15 Sep 1965.
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN. "The Precisionist View in American Art," 13 Nov--25 Dec 1960. Circulated to Whitney Museum of American Art, Detroit Institute of Arts, Los Angeles County Museum, San Francisco Museum of Art through 11 Aug 1961.
Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA. "Charles Sheeler Retrospective," 15 Nov--31 Dec 1961.
National Collection of Fine Arts, Washington, DC. "Charles Sheeler," 9 Oct--24 Nov 1968. cat. no. 117, ill. p. 77. Circulated to Philadelphia Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art through Apr 1969.
Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagarstown, MD. "Gallagher Collection," 4--31 Jan 1970.
Carnegie Institute, Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA. "Forerunners of American Abstraction," 18 Nov 1971--9 Jan 1972. cat. no. 96.
Heckscher Museum, Huntington, NY. "The Precisionist Painters 1916-1949," 7 Jul--20 Aug 1978. cat. p. 33, ill. p. 34.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA. "Images of America/Precisionist Painting and Modern Photography," 9 Sep--7 Nov 1982. cat. no. 109.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA. "Charles Sheeler: Painter/Photographer," 13 Oct 1987--3 Jan 1988. circulated to Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Dallas Museum of Art through 10 Jul 1988.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "American Modernism from the Collection," June 25, 2003-
National Gallery of Art, 7 May--4 Sep 2006; Art Institute of Chicago, 15 Oct 2006--7 Jan 2007; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 10 Feb--6 May 2007. "Charles Sheeler: Mediums and Messages."
California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA. "5th Annual," 1952.
Randolph-Macon Women's College, Lynchburg, VA. "43rd Annual," 1954.
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA. "151st Annual Exhibition of Oil Paintings and Sculpture," 22 Jan--26 Feb 1956.
White House Executive Office, Washington, DC. 19 Apr--15 Sep 1965.
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN. "The Precisionist View in American Art," 13 Nov--25 Dec 1960. Circulated to Whitney Museum of American Art, Detroit Institute of Arts, Los Angeles County Museum, San Francisco Museum of Art through 11 Aug 1961.
Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA. "Charles Sheeler Retrospective," 15 Nov--31 Dec 1961.
National Collection of Fine Arts, Washington, DC. "Charles Sheeler," 9 Oct--24 Nov 1968. cat. no. 117, ill. p. 77. Circulated to Philadelphia Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art through Apr 1969.
Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagarstown, MD. "Gallagher Collection," 4--31 Jan 1970.
Carnegie Institute, Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA. "Forerunners of American Abstraction," 18 Nov 1971--9 Jan 1972. cat. no. 96.
Heckscher Museum, Huntington, NY. "The Precisionist Painters 1916-1949," 7 Jul--20 Aug 1978. cat. p. 33, ill. p. 34.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA. "Images of America/Precisionist Painting and Modern Photography," 9 Sep--7 Nov 1982. cat. no. 109.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA. "Charles Sheeler: Painter/Photographer," 13 Oct 1987--3 Jan 1988. circulated to Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Dallas Museum of Art through 10 Jul 1988.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "American Modernism from the Collection," June 25, 2003-
National Gallery of Art, 7 May--4 Sep 2006; Art Institute of Chicago, 15 Oct 2006--7 Jan 2007; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 10 Feb--6 May 2007. "Charles Sheeler: Mediums and Messages."
Charles Brock, "Charles Sheeler: Across Media." Berkeley: National Gallery of Art, 151.
Baur, John I.H., "Symbols of Our Day," BMA News, XIX: 4, Apr 1956, p. 6-7, ill. p. 4.
"Accessions fo American and Canadian Museums January-March 1960," Art Quarterly, XXIII: 2, Summer 1960. p. 190, ill. p. 202.
"A Tribute to Adelyn D. Breeskin," BMA News, XXV: 4, Summer 1962, ill.
Baltimore Museum of Art. The Edward Joseph Gallagher III Memorial Collection. [Baltimore, MD]: Baltimore Museum of Art, [1964], page 18.
Friedman, Martin, "Charles Sheeler." New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1975, ill. p. 194.
Troyen, Carol and Erica E. Hirschler, "Charles Sheeler: Paintings and Drawings." Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1987. p.190, no. 69.
Teilman, Herdis Bull, "Forerunners of American Abstraction," Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Institute, 1971. cat. no. 96
Lochridge, Katherine, "The Precisionist Painters 1916-1949," Huntington, NY: Heckscher Museum, 1978. p. 33, ill. p. 34.
Tsujimoto, Karen, "Images of America/Precisionist Painting and Modern Photography," San Francisco: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1982. cat. no. 109.
Lucic, Karen, "Charles Sheeler and the Cult of the Machine." London: Reaktion Books, 1991. p. 113, 167, ill. pl. 55.
Friedman, Martin, Bartlett Hayes and Charles Millard, "Charles Sheeler." Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1968. no. 117.
Lochridge,Katherine, ed. "The Precisionist Painters 1916-1949: Interpretations of a Mechanical Age," Huntington, NY: The Herckscher Museum, 1978. p. 21, ill. p. 34.
Baltimore Museum of Art. "The Baltimore Museum of Art: Celebrating a Museum." Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2014.
Maroney, James H., Jr. "Fresh Perspectives on Grant Wood, Charles Sheeler, and George H. Durrie." Leicester, VT: Gala Books, Ltd, 2019
On View at the BMA
