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Bituminous Coal Storage Pile

Joseph Stella American
ca. 1920
Not on view
Between 1908 and 1924, Stella completed several commissions for the magazine The Survey, including a pictorial essay of six illustrations for an issue titled "Giant Power" (March 1, 1924). For this project, Stella visited a coal processing plant in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and portrayed the successive stages in the creation of coal byproducts. Here, in a shallow pictorial space, Stella depicts the imposing silhouette of a mountain of coal, drawn in appropriately dense black charcoal, and the comparatively delicate steelwork conveyor that straddles it. The forms are simplified but monumental, implying the power of industry, yet the shadowy atmosphere hints at a sinister, oppressive underside to that power.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Bituminous Coal Storage Pile
  • Artist: Joseph Stella (American (born Italy) Muro Lucano 1877–1946 New York, New York)
  • Date: ca. 1920
  • Medium: Charcoal and silver metallic paint on paper
  • Dimensions: 23 × 29 in. (58.4 × 73.7 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1950
  • Object Number: 50.31.4
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

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Bethlehem, Joseph Stella American, Pastel on paper
Bethlehem
Joseph Stella
ca. 1918
Head of an Old Man, Joseph Stella American, Conté crayon on paper
Head of an Old Man
Joseph Stella
ca. 1905
Coney Island, Joseph Stella American, Oil on canvas
Coney Island
Joseph Stella
1914
Sleeping Dog, Joseph Stella American, Crayon and charcoal on paper
Sleeping Dog
Joseph Stella
ca. 1921–26
Returned to lender
Pittsburgh Interior
Joseph Stella
1908

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