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 (20 items)

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Anna Hyatt Huntington, Llama, 1936, cast aluminum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1967.50.12
Llama
Artist
Date1936
cast aluminum
On view
Anna Hyatt Huntington, Rhino and Lioness, ca. 1936-1955, cast aluminum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1967.50.5
Rhino and Lioness
Artist
Dateca. 1936-1955
cast aluminum
On view
Anna Hyatt Huntington, Mare and Foal, 1905, cast aluminum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1967.50.3
Mare and Foal
Artist
Date1905
cast aluminum
On view
Anna Hyatt Huntington, Wild Boar, 1936, cast aluminum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1967.50.8
Wild Boar
Artist
Date1936
cast aluminum
On view

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William King, Good Old Days, 1983, aluminum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1985.82.1
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Anna Hyatt Huntington, Llama, 1936, cast aluminum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1967.50.12
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Unidentified (American), Fish Decoy, ca. 1940s, carved and painted wood, painted aluminum sheet, painted ferrous eye hooks, and lead weights, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Alastair B. Martin, 1999.67.15
Fish Decoy
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Dateca. 1940s
carved and painted wood, painted aluminum sheet, painted ferrous eye hooks, and lead weights
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Buddy Wayman, Sucker Decoy, after 1940, carved and painted wood, aluminum sheet metal, ferrous eye hook, and lead weight, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Alastair B. Martin, 1999.67.2
Sucker Decoy
Artist
Attributed to Buddy Wayman
Dateafter 1940
carved and painted wood, aluminum sheet metal, ferrous eye hook, and lead weight
On view