Island Dock Yard

Karl Fortess, Island Dock Yard, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.94
Copied Karl Fortess, Island Dock Yard, 1934, oil on canvas, 32 1⁄4 x 48 1⁄8 in. (81.8 x 122.2 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.94

Artwork Details

Title
Island Dock Yard
Artist
Date
1934
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
32 1⁄4 x 48 1⁄8 in. (81.8 x 122.2 cm.)
Credit Line
Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — bird’s eye view
  • Architecture — vehicle — truck
  • Architecture — vehicle — train
  • Architecture — industry — Island Dock Co. Inc.
  • New Deal — Public Works of Art Project — New York State
  • Architecture — industry — shipyard
Object Number
1964.1.94
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1964.1.94

Artwork Description

Trains, trucks, and industrial buildings were what Karl Fortess envisioned when the Public Works of Art Project suggested that he depict "the American Scene." The artist left his home in the picturesque artists' colony of Woodstock, New York, and traveled ten miles to Kingston to make this painting. Kingston had long been a thriving Hudson River port town that supplied Pennsylvania coal and local brick, stone, and cement to New York City. The Depression slowed shipping, but a newly invented concrete mixture stimulated the local cement business. Fortess’s pictorial research at Kingston was demanding, as he noted, "Inclement weather and bad roads have made it impossible to go into Kingston as often as necessary."

Fortess described his painting as "a view of the Kingston Point railway yard, showing track intersections, [a] station, freight trains, . . . shacks, and [a] background of buildings with a suggestion of a plain and barren winter trees [on] a grey day." The artist emphasized the angular geometry of the structures. He played the predominant shadowy gray colors against spots of intense red, yellow, and blue. Trucks and trains hurry to and fro, but the action proceeds without the presence of a single visible human figure.

1934: A New Deal for Artists exhibition label

Luce Center Label

Karl Fortess painted this image in the 1930s at Kingston Point landing, an industrial dock on the Hudson River in New York. He emphasized the bleakness of this wintry landscape by painting the bare trees and overcast sky with dark colors. But the orange train cars, yellow huts, and vivid red dockyard sign stand out against the gloomy background, creating an image of energy and activity in the dead of winter.

Related Books

1934_500.jpg
1934: A New Deal for Artists
During the Great Depression, president Franklin Delano Roosevelt promised a “new deal for the American people,” initiating government programs to foster economic recovery. Roosevelt’s pledge to help “the forgotten man” also embraced America’s artists. The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) enlisted artists to capture “the American Scene” in works of art that would embellish public buildings across the country. Although it lasted less than one year, from December 1933 to June 1934, the PWAP provided employment for thousands of artists, giving them an important role in the country’s recovery. Their legacy, captured in more than fifteen thousand artworks, helped “the American Scene” become America seen.