Artwork Page for The Bell Telephone Building, Cleveland, Ohio

Details / Information for The Bell Telephone Building, Cleveland, Ohio

The Bell Telephone Building, Cleveland, Ohio

1926–27

Edwin Kaufman

(American, 1906–1939)
Culture
America, Ohio, Cleveland
Medium
etching
Measurements
Platemark: 8.2 x 7.3 cm (3 1/4 x 2 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Robert Hays Gries 1942.896
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
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Did You Know?

Kaufman's entry card to the museum’s 1927 May Show reveals that this work was finished before construction on the Bell Telephone Building was complete.

Description

In this dramatic image, Edwin Kaufman captures a moment during the construction of the Bell Telephone Building in Cleveland. Begun in 1925 and completed in 1927, the building was the tallest in Cleveland until it was quickly surpassed by the Terminal Tower in 1928. During those years, the city was one of the country’s largest and its industrial production provided ready resources for large architectural projects. The image may reflect ambivalence on Kaufman’s part toward its subject: lines radiating from the top corners seem capable of representing either majesty or foreboding.
A vertically oriented etching depicts a dark, steel-framed building under construction, centered in the middle ground. Several crane arms extend from the top toward a pale, scratched sky. The structures flanking the site are heavily shadowed, while the foreground is filled with rubble and debris. Dense, hatched lines create a sense of gritty industrial texture. Handwritten text is visible in the bottom right margin.

The Bell Telephone Building, Cleveland, Ohio

1926–27

Edwin Kaufman

(American, 1906–1939)
America, Ohio, Cleveland

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