This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:The Conquerors (Culebra Cut, Panama Canal)
Artist:Jonas Lie (American (born Norway) Moss 1880–1940 New York)
Date:1913
Medium:Oil on canvas
Dimensions:60 × 50 in. (152.4 × 127 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:George A. Hearn Fund, 1914
Object Number:14.18
Inscription: Signed, dated and inscribed (lower left): Jonas Lie / Panama 1913
[M. Knoedler & Company, New York, 1913–14; sold to MMA]
New York. M. Knoedler & Company. "Paintings of the Panama Canal by Jonas Lie," December 29, 1913–January 10, 1914, no. 2 or 3 (as "The Conquerors" or "Culebra Cut").
Washington, D. C. Hall of the Americans, Pan-American Union Building. "Paintings of the Panama Canal by Jonas Lie," April 7–25, 1914.
Buffalo Fine Arts Academy. "Exhibition of Paintings of the Panama Canal by Jonas Lie," October 3–24, 1914.
New Haven. Pierson College, Yale University. "Exhibition of American Art," January 12–March 22, 1935.
Baltimore Museum of Art. "Labor in Art," September 5–30, 1938, extended to October 2, 1938, no. 57 (as "The Conquerors").
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Life in America," April 24–October 29, 1939, extended to January 1, 1940, no. 288 (as "The Conquerors, Culebra Cut").
Minneapolis Institute of Arts. "American Paintings Since Sargent, Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art," October 4–31, 1940, brochure no. 24 (as "The Conquerors").
WPA Art Center, Jacksonville, Fla. "Paintings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," March 1–31, 1941, no catalogue.
New York. YMCA, West Side. October 10, 1941–February 24, 1942.
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. "The Heritage of American Art: Paintings from the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art," September 17–November 30, 1975.
Denver Art Museum. "The Heritage of American Art: Paintings from the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art," January 4–March 7, 1976.
Des Moines Art Center. "The Heritage of American Art: Paintings from the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art," March 28–June 6, 1976.
Minneapolis Institute of Art. "The Heritage of American Art: Paintings from the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art," July 4–September 19, 1976.
Museum of Modern Art, New York. "The Natural Paradise: Painting in America 1800–1950," October 1–November 30, 1976, unnumbered cat. (p. 151; brochure no. 93; as "The Conquerors [Culebra Cut], Panama Canal").
New York. Whitney Museum of American Art, Downtown Branch. "Circa 1910," May 5–June 8, 1977, no catalogue.
Moscow. State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. "Representations of America," December 15, 1977–February 15, 1978, no catalogue.
Leningrad. State Hermitage Museum. "Representations of America," March 15–May 15, 1978, no catalogue.
Minsk, Belarus. Palace of Art. "Representations of America," June 15–August 15, 1978, no catalogue.
Jacksonville, Fla. Jacksonville Art Museum. "The Figure in 20th Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 9–April 21, 1985, unnumbered cat. (p. 97).
Oklahoma City. Oklahoma Museum of Art. "The Figure in 20th Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 5–June 30, 1985, unnumbered cat.
New York. National Academy of Design. "The Figure in 20th Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," July 16–September 1, 1985, unnumbered cat.
Evanston, Ill. Terra Museum of American Art. "The Figure in 20th Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," September 15–November 10, 1985, unnumbered cat.
Little Rock. Arkansas Arts Center. "The Figure in 20th Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," November 12, 1985–January 19, 1986, unnumbered cat.
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. "The Figure in 20th Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 9–March 30, 1986, unnumbered cat.
St. Paul. Minnesota Museum of Art. "The Figure in 20th Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 20–June 8, 1986, unnumbered cat.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "American Landscape Painting," April 4–August 13, 1989, no catalogue.
Tulsa, Okla. Philbrook Museum of Art. "The Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 14–June 9, 1991, no. 2.
Miami. Center for the Fine Arts. "The Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," June 29–August 24, 1991, no. 2.
Omaha. Joslyn Art Museum. "The Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," September 14–November 10, 1991, no. 2.
Tampa Museum of Art. "The Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," December 14, 1991–February 8, 1992, no. 2.
Greenville, S. C. Greenville County Museum of Art. "The Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," March 17–May 10, 1992, no. 2.
Madison, Wisc. Madison Art Center. "The Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," June 6–August 2, 1992, no. 2.
Grand Rapids, Mich. Grand Rapids Art Museum. "The Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," September 11–November 8, 1992, no. 2.
Queens Museum of Art. "Caribbean: Art at the Crossroads of the World," June 12, 2012–January 6, 2013, unnumbered cat. (p. 141; as by Joseph [sic] Lie).
Yonkers, N.Y. Hudson River Museum. "Oh Panama! Jonas Lie Paints the Panama Canal," February 6–May 8, 2016, no. 4.
Doylestown, Penn. James A. Michener Art Museum. "Oh Panama! Jonas Lie Paints the Panama Canal," July 23–October 30, 2016, no. 4.
Washington, D.C. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. "1898: U.S. Imperial Visions and Revisions," April 28, 2023–February 25, 2024, unnumbered cat. (fig. 9).
"New Acquisitions of Pictures." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 9 (March 1914), p. 78, ill.
"Longhi Paintings in Art Museum." New York Times (March 17, 1914), p. 10, calls it "The Conquerors (Culebra Cut)" and notes that it is on view in the Museum's Recent Accessions room.
"Art at Home and Abroad: Jonas Lie at the Panama Canal." New York Times (January 4, 1914), p. SM15.
Guy Pène du Bois. "Some More Pictures of the Canal." Arts and Decoration 4 (February 1914), pp. 158–59.
"Metropolitan Museum." American Art News 12 (March 21, 1914), p. 6.
"Jonas Lie Paints Panama Canal." American Art News 12 (January 2, 1914), p. 6.
"Sold Seven Oils to Museums." American Art News 12 (July 18, 1914), p. 3.
"News Items." Art and Progress 5 (May 1914), p. 271.
"Longhi Paintings at the Museum." New York Herald Tribune (March 17, 1914), p. 6.
Royal Cortissoz. "Lie's Panama Canal Pictures." New York Tribune (January 6, 1914), p. 9.
Florence E. Yoder. "Jonas Lie, Who Immortalized Canal Work By His Brush, Is Not Often Taken for Artist." Washington Times (April 10, 1914), p. 13, ill.
"Jonas Lie's Paintings of the Panama Canal at Knoedler's." Brooklyn Daily Eagle (January 3, 1914), p. 7.
"Gallery and Studio Chat: Growth in Work of Jonas Lie, as Shown by Present Exhibition." Buffalo Morning Express (October 12, 1914), p. 5.
"Artistic Panama Shown by Painter." Brooklyn Daily Eagle (January 18, 1914), p. 12, ill.
"Lie's Happy in Paintings at the Gallery." Buffalo Evening News (October 10, 1914), p. 9.
"News and Notes of Art and Artists." Evening Star (April 11, 1914), p. 15.
"What is Happening in the World of Art." Sun (January 4, 1914), p. 54.
"Lie's Paintings on Exhibition at Gallery." Buffalo Evening News (October 3, 1914), p. 4.
"Criticizes Dr. Hallowell; Jonas Lie Paintings on Show." New York Times (March 30, 1915), p. 7.
"Jonas Lie's Panama Pictures." American Art News 13 (April 3, 1915), p. 2.
Royal Cortissoz. "Exhibitions and Other Matters of Fine Art: Landmarks in the Year 1914." New York Herald Tribune (January 3, 1915), p. B3, ill.
"Lie Canal Paintings Are Given to Nation." New York Times (April 7, 1929), p. 4.
"Lie's Panama Paintings Go to West Point." New York Herald Tribune (April 7, 1929), p. 14.
Edward Alden Jewell. "Art in Review: Metropolitan Museum Extends Policy of Buying More Work by Contemporary Americans." New York Times (December 22, 1932), p. 15.
"Painting Acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art." New York Times (March 21, 1935), p. 26.
"Notes: Contemporary American Paintings." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 30 (May 1935), p. 117.
"Academy Shows Pictures Bought by Metropolitan." New York Herald Tribune (March 21, 1935), p. 5.
"Paintings Bought by Metropolitan." Art News 33 (March 30, 1935), p. 12.
A. Hyatt Mayor and Josephine L. Allen inLife in America. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1939, pp. 218–19, no. 288, ill.
James W. Lane. "Summer Shows in the New York Museums." Parnassus 11 (May 1939), p. 27.
"Jonas Lie Is Dead; Noted Artist, 59." New York Tiimes (January 11, 1940), p. 30.
"FSCW to Sponsor Exhibit of Art at Jacksonville." Tallahassee Democrat (February 27, 1941), p. 10.
Henry Geldzahler. American Painting in the Twentieth Century. New York, 1965, p. 47, ill.
Mrs. Emery M. Seestedt. "Railroads in Art." Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin no. 118 (April 1968), p. 29.
Joseph Masheck. "The Panama Canal and Some Other Works of Work." Artforum 9 (May 1971), p. 40, ill. p. 38.
Lowery Stokes Sims. The Figure in 20th Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., Jacksonville Art Museum. New York, 1984, pp. 92, 96–97, ill. (color).
Michael Brenson. "Back in the City, a Display of the Figure in Modern Art." New York Times (August 2, 1985), p. C21.
Lisa M. Messinger inThe Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., American Federation of Arts. New York, 1991, p. 81.
Lowery Stokes Sims inThe Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., American Federation of Arts. New York, 1991, pp. 17, 23, 118, no. 2, ill. p. 22 (color).
Robert Rosenblum inThe Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Art: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., American Federation of Arts. New York, 1991, p. 8.
John Brandenburg. "Art Review: Philbrook Show Features 60 Landscape Paintings." Daily Oklahoman (May 29, 1991), p. 13, calls it "The Conquerors".
Eliot Nusbaum. "Joslyn Hosts a Vivid Landscape Show." Des Moines Sunday Register (September 22, 1991), p. 7F.
Lisa Mintz Messinger. Abstract Expressionism, Works on Paper: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., High Museum of Art, Atlanta. New York, 1992, p. 82.
"New Leaves in New York's Picture Book." Boston Evening Transcript (March 18, 2014), p. 21, ill.
Kirsten M. Jensen inOh Panama! Jonas Lie Paints the Panama Canal. Exh. cat., Hudson River Museum. Yonkers, N.Y., 2016, pp. 36, 39, cat. no. 4, ill. pp. 39, 81 (color).
Bartholomew F. Bland inOh Panama! Jonas Lie Paints the Panama Canal. Exh. cat., Hudson River Museum. Yonkers, N.Y., 2016, pp. 55, 59, 66–70.
Tammy La Gorce. "His Greatest Subject? The Panama Canal." New York Times (February 28, 2016), p. WE9, ill.
Neil Weare in Taína Caragol and Kate Clarke Lemay. 1898: Visual Culture and U.S. Imperialism in the Caribbean and the Pacific. Exh. cat., National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Washington, D.C., 2023, p. 174, fig. 9 (color).
Georgia O'Keeffe (American, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin 1887–1986 Santa Fe, New Mexico)
1926
Resources for Research
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Met's engagement with art from 1890 to today includes the acquisition and exhibition of works in a range of media, spanning movements in modernism to contemporary practices from across the globe.