The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of January 18, 2020

The Building of the Dam

1908

J. Alden Weir

(American, 1852-1919)

America, 20th century

Oil on canvas

Framed: 93.5 x 118.5 x 7.5 cm (36 13/16 x 46 5/8 x 2 15/16 in.); Unframed: 76 x 101.6 cm (29 15/16 x 40 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1927.171

Location

not on view

Description

This painting shows the construction of the Scotland Dam, built between 1907 and 1909 on the Shetucket River near the artist's home in Windham, Connecticut. Unlike painters from the Ash Can School, such as John Sloan and George Bellows who tended to portray more sordid views of urban life, Weir hid a potentially ugly industrial scene behind trees and foliage. He used a silver palette with pastel blues and greens to mask the construction equipment behind a veil of natural beauty. Early in his career, Weir was interested in drawing and design and used a conservatively dark palette. Under the influence of his friends Albert Pinkham Ryder, John Henry Twachtman, and Theodore Robinson, the artist's palette lightened in the late 1880s, and by the 1890s he had developed his Impressionist style.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Signed lower right: "J. Alden Weir"

Provenance
Sold in 1923 by the artist's estate to the Phillips Gallery, Washington; sold to the Museum, 1927.
Citations
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 548 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 189 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 189 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 234 archive.org
Dawson, Anne E. "J. Alden Weir in Windham, Connecticut, 1882-1919." In Rare Light: J. Alden Weir in Windham, Connecticut, 1882-1919. Anne Dawson, editor, 9-90. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press, 2016. Reproduced: p. 48, fig. 2.35
Exhibition history

Washington, D.C., The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Second Exhibition of Oil Paintings by Contemporary American Artists (8 December 1908-18 January 1909), cat. no. 239 as Building a Dam on the Shetucket.

Pittsburgh, The Carnegie Institute, Thirteenth Annual Exhibition, (29 April-30 June 1909), cat. no. 282, illus as Building a Dam on the Shetucket.

New York, Montross Gallery, The Ten American Painters (24 March-16 April 1910), cat. no. 29 as Building the Dam-Shetucket.

Boston, St. Botolph Club (1911); opened 11 January 1911; see 1990 exhibition catalogue from Lugano-Castagnola, Thyssen-Bornemisza Foundation, p. 74.

Buffalo, Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Albright Art Gallery, A Collection of Paintings by J. Alden Weir, N.A. (6 September-15 October 1911), cat. no. 15 as Building a Dam on the Shetucket.

Portland (ME?), Portland Art Asssociation, Loan Exhibition of Paintings (22 September-22 November 1912), cat. no. 17 as The Dam.

Denver, Denver Public Library (January-February 1916); see Unpublished References: Correspondence between Doreen B. Burke and William S. Talbot (1981) for reference from Weir's journal.

Lynchburg, VA, (March, 1916) see Unpublished References: Correspondence between Doreen B. Burke and William S. Talbot (1981) for reference from Weir's journal.

Chicago, Union League Club (April, 1916), see Unpublished References: Correspondence between Doreen B. Burke and William S. Talbot (1981) for reference from Weir's journal.

New York, Montross Gallery (April-May, 1917), see Unpublished References: Correspondence between Doreen B. Burke and William S. Talbot (1981) for reference from Weir's journal.

New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Julian Alden Weir (17 March-20 April 1924), illus. cat. no. 39 as The Building of the Dam.

Cleveland, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Memorial Exhibition of Paintings by Thomas Eakins, Albert P. Ryder, and J. Alden Weir, (15 December 1927 - 23 January 1928)

Cleveland, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition of The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition (26 June-4 October 1936), cat. no. 375 as Building a Dam, Shetucket.

Cleveland, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Exhibition of American Painting from 1860 Until Today at The Cleveland Museum of Art (23 June-4 October 1937), cat. no. 204 as Building a Dam, Shetucket.

New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, A Century of American Landscape Painting, 1800 to 1900 (19 January-25 February 1938), cat. no. 65 as Building a Dam, Shetucket.

Pittsburgh, Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute, A Century of American Landscape Painting, 1800-1900 (22 March-30 April 1939), cat. no. 41 as Building a Dam, Shetucket.

New York, The American Academy of Arts and Letters, J. Alden Weir 1852-1919: Centennial Exhibition (1 February-30 March 1952), cat. no. 8 as Building a Dam, Shetucket.

Washington, D.C., The Phillips Collection, Paintings by Julian Alden Weir (6 May-8 June 1972); traveled to Columbus, The Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts (20 June-9 July 1972); Provo, Utah, The Brigham Young University Art Gallery (1 September-5 October 1972), illus. cat. no. 14 as Building a Dam, Shetucket.

Storrs, CT, The William Benton Museum of Art, Connecticut and American Impressionism (17 March-30 May 1980), did not travel with show; illus. cat. no. 76, p. 19 as Building a Dam, Shetucket.

New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, J. Alden Weir: An American Impressionist (14 October 1983-8 January 1984); traveled to Los Angeles, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (9 February-6 May 1984); Denver, The Denver Art Museum (13 June-19 August 1984), cat. not numbered, illus. p. 243, fig. no. 6.20 as Building a Dam, Shetucket.

Lugano-Castagnola, Switzerland, Gallery Thyssen-Bornemisza, American Impressionist Paintings (22 July-28 October 1990), illus. cat. no. 26, p. 75 as Building a Dam, Shetucket.

Storrs, CT, The William Benton Musuem of Art, J. Alden Weir: A Place of His Own (4 June-18 August 1991); traveled to Greenwich, CT, The Bruce Museum (15 September-3 November 1991), illus. cat. plate no. 15 as Building a Dam, Shetucket.

Lausanne, Switzerland, Fondation de l’Hermitage, L’Impressionnisme Américain 1880-1915 (6 June 2002-20 October 2002), illus. cat. no. 57, p. 112 as The Building of the Dam (La construction du barrage).

Heckscher Musuem of Art (11/22/2003 - 2/1/2004): "The Golden Age of American Impressionsim"

The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 12, 1936).

Exhibition of American Painting from 1860 Until Today. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-October 4, 1937).

35th Anniversary Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 20-September 30, 1951).

Landscape. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 9-April 22, 1962).

L'Impressionisme Américain 1880-1915. Fondation de l'Hermitage (organizer) (June 6-October 20, 2002).

The Golden Age of American Impressionism. Heckscher Museum of Art (organizer) (November 22, 2003-February 1, 2004).

Source URL: https://cmaweb23-bbn-2.clevelandart.org/art/1927.171