Collection of the University of Pittsburgh Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA. Gift of The Gimbel Brothers, Inc.
1959.GIMBEL.14
Bessemer Blowing
1947 (Date created)
October 1 1947 (Date published)
October 1 1947 (Date published)
Gouache
Painting
Paintings
38.5 in W
x
49 in H
(Frame)
Notes: Wood inlays
28.5 in W x 39.5 in H (Image)
Notes: Wood inlays
28.5 in W x 39.5 in H (Image)
American
Scene in orange, red, yellow, and brown of group of 4 figures under the blowing Bessemer processor.
"The Bessemer process was the fastest and most spectacular method of making steel, consists of blowing air through the bath of molten iron to remove carbon, silicon and manganese, thus turning iron into steel. In blowing, flame color changed from red through orange to blinding white. Since color indicated progress in chemical removal, the electric eye automatically fixed the "end point" of the burning out process". (D. Grafty, "Pennsylvania as Artists See it: The Gimbel PA Art Collection", 1948)
"A Chicago native, Edward Millman accepted the Gimbel Brother's commission with the directions to "paint Pennsylvania as you see it". For Millman, the freedom to choose his subject matter resulted in a series of works that emphasized drama and energy of Pittsburgh's infamous steel industry. In Bessemer Blowing and Adding Hot Metal to the Open Hearth Furnace the process of refining molten iron into steel is dramatized with radiating whites and yellows illuminating the composition in a swath of violent color.
Like the other work in Millman's steel industry series, Bessemer Blowing stresses the overwhelming physical presence of machines in comparison to the worker. At the base of the painting, a group of workers appear small and transparent as they stand below the colossal Bessemer. Dwarfed by its sheer magnitude, the workers are bathed in a spectacular light as blinding flames blast from the machine." ("SLAG", Fall 2010)
"A Chicago native, Edward Millman accepted the Gimbel Brother's commission with the directions to "paint Pennsylvania as you see it". For Millman, the freedom to choose his subject matter resulted in a series of works that emphasized drama and energy of Pittsburgh's infamous steel industry. In Bessemer Blowing and Adding Hot Metal to the Open Hearth Furnace the process of refining molten iron into steel is dramatized with radiating whites and yellows illuminating the composition in a swath of violent color.
Like the other work in Millman's steel industry series, Bessemer Blowing stresses the overwhelming physical presence of machines in comparison to the worker. At the base of the painting, a group of workers appear small and transparent as they stand below the colossal Bessemer. Dwarfed by its sheer magnitude, the workers are bathed in a spectacular light as blinding flames blast from the machine." ("SLAG", Fall 2010)
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
Social
Western Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh
Industry
Social