The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 19, 2025
The Wells Street "L," Chicago
1931
(American, 1906–1988)
Image: 23.7 x 33.7 cm (9 5/16 x 13 1/4 in.); Matted: 40.6 x 50.8 cm (16 x 20 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1994.92
Location: Not on view
Description
Although the skyscraper originated in the 1880s, it was not until the 1910s and 1920s that a vertical building boom turned Chicago’s downtown and several areas in New York into steep-walled canyons. The construction of massive office buildings was spurred by the need to accommodate a burgeoning white-collar workforce spawned by rapid economic growth. Electrified railroads, some of them elevated like Chicago’s “L,” provided transportation for the throngs of workers. Gordon Coster, a Chicago photographer, began as a Pictorialist, creating soft-focus, artfully manipulated images, but later embraced modernism’s sharp focus and radical compositional strategies. This dizzying view is emblematic of modernist experimentation with unusual camera angles.- Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 134
- From Riches to Rags: American Photography in the Depression. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 13-December 31, 2017).Industry and Photography: Selections from the Permanent Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 16, 1997-March 1, 1998).Recent Acquisitions: Prints, Drawings, Photographs. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 13-November 27, 1994).
- {{cite web|title=The Wells Street "L," Chicago|url=false|author=Gordon Coster|year=1931|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1994.92