Object Details
- Artist
- Max Arthur Cohn, born London, England 1903-died New York City 1998
- Luce Center Label
- Max Arthur Cohn painted Bethlehem Steel Works in 1938, during the Great Depression and a few short years before America's entry into World War II. The artist depicted one of the massive steel factories owned by Bethlehem Steel in Pennsylvania. Bethlehem Steel, now defunct, was once one of the largest steel producers in the United States. It produced the steel used in numerous American structural icons, most notably San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. It also built 1,127 ships during World War II. In a letter about the painting, Cohn recalled being arrested in Bethlehem City, Pennsylvania, under suspicion of being a Nazi spy while painting a scene similar to this one in the summer of 1939 (The artist, to Harry Rand, February 20, 1978, The American Art Museum curatorial file).
- Credit Line
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. Max Arthur Cohn
- 1938
- Object number
- 1978.41.1
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Painting
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 24 x 32 in. (61.0 x 81.4 cm)
- See more items in
- Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Topic
- Architecture Exterior\industry\Bethlehem Steel Works
- Record ID
- saam_1978.41.1
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7d8cbdbc8-de47-411f-8909-41c55c0a681f
