Poughkeepsie Iron Works (Bech’s Furnace)

Poughkeepsie Iron Works (Bech’s Furnace)

1856
Johann Hermann Carmiencke
German, 1810–1867, active in the United States 1851–67
Oil on canvas
29 x 36 1/4 x 1 in. (73.7 x 92.1 x 2.5 cm)

On view in the American Art before 1900 galleries

Johann Hermann Carmiencke’s romantic representation of a factory, nestled between the Hudson River and a hill with grazing goats and kerchief-wearing country folk, shows no sign of disturbing the land­scape. In reality, Poughkeepsie Iron Works created such a constant din and stench that, as one histo­rian sarcastically noted, “Without the snorting of the blowing engine residents of the southern section of Poughkeepsie scarcely knew how to go to sleep at night.” The Danish-born owner of the ironworks prob­ably commissioned the German-born artist to commemorate this impres­sive symbol of an immigrant’s success.

1971.111.5
Yale University Art Gallery, Bequest of Evelyn A. Cummins