The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 25, 2024
Modern Progress in Transportation
c. 1930
(American, 1883–1965)
Sheet: 31.6 x 56.1 cm (12 7/16 x 22 1/16 in.); Image: 20.4 x 45.5 cm (8 1/16 x 17 15/16 in.)
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
Charles Sheeler was commissioned by the Ford Motor Company to spend six weeks photographing its new factory, and this drawing relates to the images he created then.Description
Charles Sheeler based this work, a combination of painting and drawing, on a photograph he took of a Ford Trimotor airplane on the assembly line at the company's plant near its huge River Rouge facility in Dearborn, Michigan. The artist felt that photography could help him see things in a more objective and truthful way, so that he could concentrate on representing pure form. Sheeler loved industrial subjects and held an optimistic view of the impact of modern machines on everyday life -- even during the Great Depression, when this drawing was made. His style became known as "Precisionism" because of its crisp, clear forms and elimination of detail.- 1930s-?Charles Sheeler, sold to private collection, Philadelphia, PA1930s-1996Private collection, Philadelpha, PA, by descent1996(Sotheby's, New York, NY, March 14, 1996, no. 157, sold to Martha Parrish and James Reinish, Inc.)1996(Martha Parrish & James Reinish, Inc., New York, NY, sold to Cleveland Museum of Art)1996-The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Cleveland Museum of Art, “Rare Korean Screen Painting, Important Baroque Drawing, Sheeler Drawing Join the Museum Collection,” October 10, 1996, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.orgDeGrazia, Diane, and Carter E. Foster. Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Exh. Cat. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000. Mentioned: pp. 254-55, p. 197; Reproduced: p. 255
- Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000); The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY (May 23-August 19, 2001); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (October 14, 2001-January 6, 2002).American Drawings from the Permanent Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 19-July 12, 1998).
- {{cite web|title=Modern Progress in Transportation|url=false|author=Charles Sheeler|year=c. 1930|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1996.252