Georgetown Waterfront

Rowland Lyon, Georgetown Waterfront, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1974.89.5
Rowland Lyon, Georgetown Waterfront, 1934, oil on canvas, 26 1⁄8 x 40 in. (66.3 x 101.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1974.89.5

Artwork Details

Title
Georgetown Waterfront
Artist
Date
1934
Location
Dimensions
26 1⁄8 x 40 in. (66.3 x 101.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Transfer from the General Services Administration
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture — industry — factory
  • Cityscape — District of Columbia — Washington
  • Cityscape — District of Columbia — Georgetown
  • Cityscape — river — Potomac River
  • New Deal — Public Works of Art Project — Washington, D.C.
Object Number
1974.89.5
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1974.89.5

Artwork Description

Rowland Lyon lived in Washington, D.C., his entire life. Even though he traveled abroad often, he always enjoyed painting images of his hometown. In Georgetown Waterfront, the landscape is divided into three horizontal bands: the buildings lining the Georgetown waterfront, their rippling reflections in the Potomac River, and the bare winter landscape in the foreground on the Virginia side of the river. During the 1930s, in the midst of the Great Depression, Americans saw factories and smokestacks as symbols of the country's economic recovery. Lyon painted a row of silos, buildings, and chimneys in bright, cheerful colors to celebrate industry as an essential part of the American landscape.

Works by this artist (5 items)

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Terry Toedtemeier, Burning Railroad Tie, Burlington Cut near Catherine Creek, Klickitat County, Washington, 1987, printed 1988, selenium-toned gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1990.51, © 1987, Terry Toedtemeier
Burning Railroad Tie, Burlington Cut near Catherine Creek,…
Artist
Date1987, printed 1988
selenium-toned gelatin silver print
Not on view
Terry Toedtemeier, Spearfish (site), Klickitat County, Washington, 1988, selenium toned gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Consolidated Natural Gas Company Foundation, 1990.70, © 1988, Terry Toedtemeier
Spearfish (site), Klickitat County, Washington
Artist
Date1988
selenium toned gelatin silver print
Not on view
Terry Toedtemeier, Owyhee River from the North end of "The Tongue", 1999, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by David S. Purvis, 2009.22.2, © Estate of Terry Toedtemeier
Owyhee River from the North end of ​“The Tongue”
Artist
Date1999
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Terry Toedtemeier, Wallula Gap from Sister's Butte, Walla Walla Co. Washington, 2003, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by David S. Purvis, 2009.22.3, © Estate of Terry Toedtemeier
Wallula Gap from Sister’s Butte, Walla Walla Co. Washington
Artist
Date2003
gelatin silver print
Not on view

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