Visions Of Industrial America Through The Modernism Of Charles Sheeler

American Landscape 1930

Born on this day in Philadelphia in 1883, Charles Sheeler became one of the founding members of the Modernist arts in the United States. Although trained as a draftsman as well as an artist he was equally successful as a self-trained commercial photographer. Along with photographer, Paul Strand, Sheeler is also credited with producing Manhatta, often called the first avant-garde film in the US. If we were to use one word to describe his work, it would be "Precisionism."

I favor a picture which arrives at its destination without the evidence of a trying journey rather than one which shows the marks of battle.

                                                                 Charles Sheeler

Here is a sample of Sheeler as painter and filmmaker:

Pertaining to Yachts and Yachting 1922

Yankee Clipper 1939

Golden Gate 1955

A class visit to the Phillips Gallery (now Phillips Collection) of the Smithsonian Institution in the early 1970s introduced me to Sheeler's work. My appreciation of his style grew throughout my career as responsibilities in visual media planning, design, and production increased. The career ended almost twenty years ago but I still recall his name when reminded of his subjects, especially cityscapes and industrial structures.