The striking beauty of the Machine Age
A founder of 20th century American modernism, photographer Charles Sheeler built a career coaxing new worlds out of the ordinary ones he inhabited
"Side of White Barn, Bucks County, Pennsylvania," 1915, by Charles Sheeler
(The Lane Collection, Image Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)That celebration of the beauty in functionality is now on exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Charles Sheeler from Doy
"Manhatta — Ferry Docking," 1920, by Charles Sheeler
(The Lane Collection, Image Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
"Ford Plant — Criss-Crossed Conveyors," 1927, by Charles Sheeler
(The Lane Collection, Image Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)Sheeler did not set out to be a photographer — indeed, as a young man he trained as a painter, traveling to Europe, where his
"Manhatta — Through a Balustrade," 1920, by Charles Sheeler
(The Lane Collection, Image Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
"Buggy, Doylestown, Pennsylvania," 1917, by Charles Sheeler
(The Lane Collection, Image Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)The first series on display at the MFA depicts quotidian views of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, where Sheeler rented a home for a
(Left) "Doylestown House — Stairs from Below," 1916-17, by Charles Sheeler, (right) "Doylestown House — Stairwell," 1916-17, by Charles Sheeler
(The Lane Collection, Image Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)In 1920, Sheeler collaborated on a short, silent film with fellow modernist photographer and filmmaker Paul Strand in New York
"Manhatta — Rooftops," 1920, by Charles Sheeler
(The Lane Collection, Image Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
"New York, Buildings in Shadows and Smoke," 1920, by Charles Sheeler
(The Lane Collection, Image Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)In the late 1920s, Sheeler was commissioned to photograph the Ford Motor Company's River Rouge plant, in Michigan, when the co
"Ford Plant — Ladle Hooks, Open Hearth Building," 1927, by Charles Sheeler
(The Lane Collection, Image Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
"Ford Plant — Stamping Press," 1927, by Charles Sheeler
(The Lane Collection, Image Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)**Charles Sheeler from Doylestown to Detroit is on view through Nov. 5, at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston**
