The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

This is the Cuyahoga River which flows through Cleveland, Ohio. On June 22, 1969 the river caught fire. It was not a big fire. But it was large enough to ignite the environmental movement that led to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency.

This is the Cuyahoga River which flows through Cleveland, Ohio. On June 22, 1969 the river caught fire. It was not a big fire. But it was large enough to ignite the environmental movement that led to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency.

1970, printed 2020
(American, 1931–2021)
inkjet print from original Kodachrome negative
Image: 17.7 x 45.7 cm (6 15/16 x 18 in.); Paper: 43.1 x 55.8 cm (16 15/16 x 21 15/16 in.)
Gift of Emmie Stonehill Donadio 2020.342
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

In 1969, the Cuyahoga River became the poster child for water pollution.

Description

This photograph was made less than a year after the Cuyahoga River came to national prominence for catching fire. James Blair, shooting a story on pollution for National Geographic, chose a panorama format and a low viewpoint so that ironwork structures loom overhead. The ruined pier occupying the center foreground suggests obsolescence and predicts the economic decline that turned the Great Lakes into the Rust Belt.
  • 2020
    James Blair (the artist) [1931-]
    2020
    Emmie Stonehill Donadio, Middlebury, VT
    December 7, 2020
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=This is the Cuyahoga River which flows through Cleveland, Ohio. On June 22, 1969 the river caught fire. It was not a big fire. But it was large enough to ignite the environmental movement that led to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency.|url=false|author=James Blair|year=1970, printed 2020|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2020.342