Featured Work of Art
Charles Sheeler (American, 1883–1965)
Water, 1945
Oil on canvas
24 x 29 1/8 inches (61 x 74 cm)
Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund, 1949 (49.128)
Collection Area: Modern and Contemporary Art
Subject Areas: Visual Arts, English Language Arts, U.S. History, Geography
Grades: High School
Topic/Theme: Art as a Primary Resource
Goals
Students will be able to
- recognize the capacity of art to both reflect and shape community values;
- identify ways in which attributes such as color, viewpoint, style, and composition convey ideas; and
- develop interpretations of artwork based on visual evidence and evaluate alternate viewpoints expressed by peers.
National Standards
Visual Arts – Choosing and Evaluating a Range of Subject Matter, Symbols, and Ideas
Visual Arts – Understanding the Visual Arts in Relation to History and Cultures
Visual Arts – Making Connections between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines
English Language Arts – Evaluating Data
English Language Arts – Communication Skills
English Language Arts – Communication Strategies
English Language Arts – Applying Language Skills
U.S. History – Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
Geography – Environment and Society
Questions for Viewing
- Take a moment to look closely. What are your first impressions of the scene?
- How does this image compare to other American landscapes you’ve seen?
- What does this work emphasize? How?
- What do you notice about the colors the artist selected? What might this add to our understanding?
- This painting depicts a hydroelectric power generator built by the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1930s. How do you think the artist felt about the growth of industry at this time? What do you see that supports your idea?
- How might your response to this painting change if the artist selected a vantage point further away or from above?
- In addition to painting, Sheeler worked as a commercial photographer. What aspects of this painting might draw upon that experience?
- Why do you think the artist continued to paint in spite of his success as a photographer?
Activity
Make a case for this painting as a celebration or critique of industry using evidence to support your argument. Listen closely to the ideas and evidence presented by other speakers and consider how, if at all, your interpretation of this work has changed at the end of the discussion.
Materials: None
Activity Setting: Museum
Resources
Brock, Charles. Charles Sheeler: Across Media. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 2006.
"Charles Sheeler: Water (49.128)." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. (November 2009)
Montclair Art Museum. Precisionism in America, 1915–1941: Reordering Reality. New York: Abrams, 1994.
Murphy, Jessica. "Charles Sheeler (1883–1965)." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. (November 2009)
Related Objects
Charles Sheeler (American, 1883–1965)
Criss-Crossed Conveyors, River Rouge Plant, Ford Motor Company, 1927
Gelatin silver print
9 1/4 x 7 3/8 in. (23.5 x 18.8 cm)
Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987 (1987.1100.1) © The Lane Collection
Charles Demuth (American, 1883–1935)
Machinery, 1920
Tempera and pencil on cardboard
24 x 19 7/8 in. (60.9 x 50 cm)
Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949 (49.59.2)
Author: Claire Moore
Affiliation: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Date: 2010
