Spring in the Monongahela Valley
Object number86.1.256 a,b
Artist
Marty Lewis Cornelius
Date1947
MediumOil on canvas; Wood; Paint
Credit LineGift of Stuart List
DescriptionOil painting. Urban landscape showing Pittsburgh's Monongahela Valley with domestic spaces in the foreground, Duquesne Pilsener, a utility building and a church appear among the buildings in the middleground. Heavy industrial structures in background with firey stacks. A blue and gold colored sky with predominantly deep red and green colors occupying foreground and middleground.Dimensions38.9999 x 45.9999 in. (99.1 x 116.8 cm)SignedL.L. corner: Marty Lewis Cornelius
MarksCarnegie Institute label on back
Historical NotesWhen asked in 1947 to contribute a piece to the Carnegie Museum of Art's exhibition, "Painting in the United States," Cornelius produced this work. The artist's desire was, "to capture the mood of my city in my time." Painted from a perspective about halfway up the South Side Slopes, the painting does indeed capture the spirits and energy of post-war Pittsburgh. The cherry tree in bloom, the cavorting pets, and the lovers entwined, all speak to springtime in this South Side neighborhood. The mills spewing black and orange smoke and the prominent display of the Duquesne Pilsner sign remind us of the consumer demand that fueled the region's factories in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, the artist won her first art prize as a sophomore in high school. After graduating from Carnegie Tech with a B.A. in Art Education, she returned to that school and studied illustration and painting. Cornelius won various awards for her paintings and her work was included in several of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh annual shows.
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Thomas Lewis
