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