Charles Sheeler's Photographic Modernity Reassessed in New Monograph
A new monograph by Gilles Mora and Theodore E. Stebbins Jr. reevaluates Charles Sheeler's photography, arguing it has been critically underestimated. Sheeler, known for Precisionist painting, used photography from 1910 onward to earn a living, reproducing works by Cézanne, Picasso, Duchamp, and African sculptures, as well as documenting architecture and industrial sites. His most significant paintings drew geometric structures from his photographs. Collectors like the Arensbergs discovered his painting through his photographic commissions. The book positions Sheeler's early radical modernity alongside figures like Marinetti, who found pleasure in engine noise akin to Bach.
Key facts
- Gilles Mora and Theodore E. Stebbins Jr. authored the monograph on Charles Sheeler.
- The book is published by Éditions du Seuil.
- Sheeler's photography has been subject to critical embarrassment and undervaluation.
- He used photography from 1910 as a non-prejudicial means to support his painting career.
- His photographs reproduced works by Cézanne, Picasso, Duchamp, and African masks and sculptures.
- He photographed suburban houses and newly built factories.
- Collectors like Arensberg commissioned reproductions and then bought his paintings.
- Sheeler compared pleasure from engine sensations to listening to Bach.
Entities
Artists
- Charles Sheeler
- Gilles Mora
- Theodore E. Stebbins Jr.
- Paul Cézanne
- Pablo Picasso
- Marcel Duchamp
- Andy Warhol
- Robert Rauschenberg
- Filippo Tommaso Marinetti
- Johann Sebastian Bach
Institutions
- Éditions du Seuil
- Arensberg
Locations
- Pennsylvania
Sources
- artpress —