Refinery
Unlike Niles Spencer’s Waterfront Mill (MMA 42.169) and Charles Sheeler’s Water (MMA 49.128), Steth’s Refinery asserts the dirty, sooty, perhaps even dangerous character of its industrial subject. This negative impression is enhanced by the rich and ominous effect of the carborundum etching technique. To make this print, Steth first roughened the surface of his copper plate with Carborundum, a commercially produced abrasive. He then drew his image on the plate with an acid-resistant varnish. After he immersed the plate in an acid solution, the broad lines of the protected drawing stood out in relief above the deeply bitten background for inking and printing.
Artwork Details
- Title: Refinery
- Artist: Raymond Steth (American, Norfolk, Virginia 1917–1997 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- Date: ca. 1941
- Medium: Carborundum etching
- Dimensions: 12 1/2 × 9 7/16 in. (31.7 × 24 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Gift of Reba and Dave Williams, 1999
- Object Number: 1999.529.157
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
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Raymond Steth
WPA
1935–43
Raymond Steth
WPA
ca. 1942
Raymond Steth
WPA
ca. 1940
Raymond Steth
WPA
1939
Raymond Steth
ca. 1935–43
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