Northern Minnesota Mine

E. Dewey Albinson, Northern Minnesota Mine, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.49
E. Dewey Albinson, Northern Minnesota Mine, 1934, oil on canvas, 4050 18 in. (101.6127.2 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.49

Artwork Details

Title
Northern Minnesota Mine
Date
1934
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
4050 18 in. (101.6127.2 cm.)
Credit Line
Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure group
  • Landscape — Minnesota
  • Architecture — industry — mine
  • Occupation — industry — mining
  • New Deal — Public Works of Art Project — Minnesota
Object Number
1964.1.49
Research Notes

Artwork Description

A vast open-pit iron mine dominates this painting as iron mining dominated northern Minnesota. As steam shovels dug out the ore and trains carried it away, the oval excavations hungrily ate away the land. Artist Dewey Albinson showed houses and gardens suspended precariously above the edge of a widening pit. The wearily stooping miners in the foreground have finished their shift and wait for a train home while a new shift works the mine. Albinson shows the mine in operation, but work was not always steady during the early days of the Great Depression. One Minnesota iron miner recalled his week’s workdays declining from six to four or less; then in 1932 he had no work at all for six months.

Albinson, a native of Minnesota, knew the iron mines of northern Minnesota's Mesabi Range well; in 1932 one of the big mining companies had hired him to paint local scenes, including the Spruce and Mesabi Mountain mines. In his PWAP painting, Albinson took evident delight in the characteristic rusty orange of the iron-laden soil, playing it against a pale blue sky, green bushes, and a vivid turquoise shed.

1934: A New Deal for Artists exhibition label

Works by this artist (1 item)

Andy Paiko, Spinning Wheel, 2007, glass, cocobolo, steel, brass, and leather, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Peg and Bob Van Andel, 2012.7A-GG, © 2007, Andy Paiko
Spinning Wheel
Date2007
glass, cocobolo, steel, brass, and leather
Not on view

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.

More Artworks from the Collection

Claire Falkenstein, City is Man, 1941-1952, linocut, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.14, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
City is Man
Date1941-1952
linocut
Not on view
Claire Falkenstein, Untitled, 1976, embossed paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.18, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
Untitled
Date1976
embossed paper
Not on view
Claire Falkenstein, Mandala, 1977, lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.19, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
Mandala
Date1977
lithograph
Not on view
Nathan Oliveira, Site with Blue and White, 1978, monotype, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.14
Site with Blue and White
Date1978
monotype
Not on view