The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 14, 2025

"Hot Pigs," Otis Steel Co., Cleveland

1928

Margaret Bourke-White

(American, 1904–1971)
America
gelatin silver print
Image: 34.1 x 25.8 cm (13 7/16 x 10 3/16 in.); Matted: 61 x 50.8 cm (24 x 20 in.)
Gift of Mrs. Albert A. Levin 1972.244
© Estate of Margaret Bourke-White / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

“Pigs” were small, oblong blocks molded from surplus molten steel; a grouping of the molds resembled a litter of piglets.

Description

A leading photographer of her generation, Bourke-White launched her highly successful career in Cleveland. Captivated by dramatic scenes of industrial production, she received permission to photograph activities at the Otis Steel Company, a major firm with a mill located on the shore of Lake Erie and another on the bank of the Cuyahoga River. These images caught the attention of Henry Luce, founder of Time, Fortune, and Life magazines, who hired her to work as a photojournalist.
  • Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1972.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 60, no. 3 (1973): 63–115 Mentioned: p. 113, no. 244 www.jstor.org
    Pultz, John, Catherine B. Scallen, and Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Cubism and American Photography, 1910-1930. Williamstown, Mass.: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1981. Mentioned: no. 6; Reproduced: p. 48
    Goldberg, Vicki, International Center of Photography, Detroit Institute of Arts, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Minnesota Museum of Art, Wadsworth Atheneum, California Museum of Photography, et al. Bourke-White. [Hartford, Connecticut]: United Technologies Corporation, 1988. Mentioned: p. 118, no. 35
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 102
    Robinson, William H., et. al. Transformations in Cleveland Art, 1796-1946: Community and Diversity in Early Modern America. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Mentioned and Reproduced: p.113, fig. 115; Mentioned: p. 245, no. 32
  • Main Gallery Rotation (Gallery 228). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 24, 2009–December 7, 2009)
    Transformations in Cleveland Art, 1796-1946. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 19-July 21, 1996).
    Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).
    Margaret Bourke-White: A Retrospective. International Center of Photography, New York, NY (organizer) (March 4-May 1, 1988); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (May 17-July 10, 1988); The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO (August 5-September 25, 1988); Minnesota Museum of American Art, Saint Paul, MN (October 16, 1988-January 1, 1989); Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT (January 22-March 19, 1989); California Museum of Photography, Riverside, CA (April 8-June 4, 1989); National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DE (June 25-August 25, 1989); Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, TX (September 16-November 12, 1989); Stanford University Museum and Art Gallery, Stanford, CA (December 1, 1989-February 7, 1990); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 28-April 15, 1990).
    Urban Vicissitudes. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 2-September 29, 1985).
    Cubism and American Photography. 1910–1930. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA (October 31, 1981– December 6, 1981); International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, Rochester, NY (December 18, 1981–February 17, 1982); The Toledo Museum of Art (April 30, 1982–June 13, 1982); The Minneapolis Institute of Art (July 2, 1982–August 15, 1982); Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, ME (September 3, 1982 –October 17, 1982)
    130 Years of Ohio Photography. Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH (organizer) (December 1, 1978-January 3, 1979).
    Year in Review: 1972. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 27-March 18, 1973).
  • {{cite web|title="Hot Pigs," Otis Steel Co., Cleveland|url=false|author=Margaret Bourke-White|year=1928|access-date=14 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1972.244