Collection of the University of Pittsburgh Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA. Gift of The Gimbel Brothers, Inc.
1959.GIMBEL.11
Pittsburgh Waterfront
October 1 1947 (Date published)
1946 – 1947 (Date created)
1946 – 1947 (Date created)
Oil
Painting
Paintings
72 in W
x
35.5 in H
(Object)
81 in W x 46 in H (Frame)
81 in W x 46 in H (Frame)
American
Somber gray and rust look at Pittsburgh as a working river town with main bridge in foreground, coal barge underneath, rujnning train at left, puffing mills in back with bridges.
"Pittsburgh is here depicted as a river town, the point of its "Golden Triangle", or business wedge, jutting out into the water where the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers join to form the Ohio. Rail, river, and highway traffic are here coordinated in the arterial flow of a busy American industrial city. (Preliminary sketch for this painting also included in collection.)" (D. Grafty, "Pennsylvania as Artists See it: The Gimbel PA Art Collection", 1948)
"Native from St. Louis, Missouri, Joe Jones exhibited in the 1937 and 1947 Carnegie International exhibitions. In his work for the Gimbel project, the artist was particularly interested in depictions of transport ways - rivers, bridges, and railroads - and their crucial role in industry. These three paintings, almost of mural proportions, depict man-altered landscapes, however, none show any signs of human life. The artist focused essentially on the traffic flux of coal barges and freight trains, and the energy of the steel plants.
Jones probably sketched outdoors but gave in to imagination and improvisation in the final rendering of his landscapes. In Pittsburgh Waterfront, a Pittsburgher would feel rather uneasy about the viewpoint to the Golden Triangle (seen from the North West): the South Side hills seem to have moved to the North Shore, on the left of the canvas. Rather than delivering a faithful picture of the city, Jones' painting is meant to capture the rhythm of the three rivers which made Pittsburgh one of the most important industrial centers of the first half of the 20th century." (Rediscover: The Collection Revealed, 2013)
"Native from St. Louis, Missouri, Joe Jones exhibited in the 1937 and 1947 Carnegie International exhibitions. In his work for the Gimbel project, the artist was particularly interested in depictions of transport ways - rivers, bridges, and railroads - and their crucial role in industry. These three paintings, almost of mural proportions, depict man-altered landscapes, however, none show any signs of human life. The artist focused essentially on the traffic flux of coal barges and freight trains, and the energy of the steel plants.
Jones probably sketched outdoors but gave in to imagination and improvisation in the final rendering of his landscapes. In Pittsburgh Waterfront, a Pittsburgher would feel rather uneasy about the viewpoint to the Golden Triangle (seen from the North West): the South Side hills seem to have moved to the North Shore, on the left of the canvas. Rather than delivering a faithful picture of the city, Jones' painting is meant to capture the rhythm of the three rivers which made Pittsburgh one of the most important industrial centers of the first half of the 20th century." (Rediscover: The Collection Revealed, 2013)
In Collection
ca. 1959, University Art Gallery Gift of Mr. Steve Osterweis, President of Gimbel Brothers, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa.
ca. 1946-1959, Gimbel Brothers, Inc.
ca. 1946-1959, Gimbel Brothers, Inc.
Catalog of October 1, 1947 (first publication of the paintings)
D. Grafty, "Pennsylvania as Artists See it: The Gimbel PA Art Collection", 1948
R. Gigler, "Pittsburgh's Man of Steel", Pittsburgh Press Roto, August 12, 1979.
O. Francis, "The Saga of Joe Magarac Steelman", Scribner's Magazine, nov. 1931.
Roy Kahn, "Real Pittsburgh: Just an Average Joe", Pittsburgh Magazine, nov. 1985, 17-18.
Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, Feb. 25, 1948
John Oliver La Gorce, "Artists Look At Pennsylvania", National Geographic Magazine
Catalogue from March 1959 when the collection was presented at the new University Student Union at Pitt (formerly Schenley Hotel).
D. Grafty, "Pennsylvania as Artists See it: The Gimbel PA Art Collection", 1948
R. Gigler, "Pittsburgh's Man of Steel", Pittsburgh Press Roto, August 12, 1979.
O. Francis, "The Saga of Joe Magarac Steelman", Scribner's Magazine, nov. 1931.
Roy Kahn, "Real Pittsburgh: Just an Average Joe", Pittsburgh Magazine, nov. 1985, 17-18.
Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, Feb. 25, 1948
John Oliver La Gorce, "Artists Look At Pennsylvania", National Geographic Magazine
Catalogue from March 1959 when the collection was presented at the new University Student Union at Pitt (formerly Schenley Hotel).
Please note that cataloging is ongoing and that some information may not be complete.
Corporate commissions
Western Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh
Industry
Landscapes
Western Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh
Industry
Landscapes