Images(2)

South Duquesne Mills

Object number91.28.1 a,b

Artist Johanna Knowles Woodwell Hailman (1871 - 1958)

Date1930

MediumPaint; Canvas; Wood

Credit LineGift of Thomas Thompson

DescriptionFramed oil painting that depicts an industrial mill scene a river. The landscape features a steel mill in operation with furnace stacks billowing yellow and dark red smoke. A locomotive in the right foreground belches black smoke. Dimensions46.5 x 2.5 x 56.620 in. (118.1 x 6.4 x 143.8 cm)
SignedLower left corner: "Johanna K.W. Hailman / 193"
MarksOn canvas reverse remains of a printed label: "REG. NO. 653 CASE NO.____/CARNEG__"
Historical NotesDuquesne Steel Works of U.S. Steel was located along the Monongahela River about 10 miles south of Pittsburgh. Label TextThis work captures a portion of the mammoth Duquesne Steel Works of U.S. Steel. Built in 1886 to produce steel rails for the railroad, it was acquired by Andrew Carnegie in 1881. He added 200 acres to the site operating an iron and steel mill on the upper portion and rolling mills on the lower site joined by rail. At peak production in the 1940s, the mill employed 9,000 workers and had 32 open hearth furnaces. The mill closed in 1984 and was demolished in 1988. The drive to save this behemoth and its Dorothy furnace became a rallying point for the Save Steel movement in the region. Hailman’s painting gives testament to the power and productivity of the mill in the early and mid-20th century.

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