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Fort Peck Dam, Montana

1936
Not on view
When Life magazine printed Bourke-White’s photograph on the cover of its first issue (November 23, 1936), it solidified Fort Peck Dam’s status as an icon of the machine age. Looking up at giant concrete buttresses and what appear to be crenellated battlements (actually supports for an elevated highway), with small figures on the spillway providing the necessary indication of scale, Bourke-White creates a vivid illustration of the power of technology to dwarf humankind. This robust work presents new, modern monuments as equally impressive as the towering walls of ancient cities.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Fort Peck Dam, Montana
  • Artist: Margaret Bourke-White (American, Bronx, New York 1904–1971 Darien, Connecticut)
  • Date: 1936
  • Medium: Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions: 33.1 x 26.6 cm (13 x 10 1/2 in.)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987
  • Object Number: 1987.1100.25
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

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