American modernist Charles Sheeler was a pioneer of the Precisionist painting style and who also explored the relationship between photography and painting. He created abstracted paintings that portrayed scenes from rural and modern industrial life, emphasizing the elemental geometric forms of his subjects —a central concern for Precisionists. Trained in industrial drawing and fine art, Sheeler began working as a commercial photographer around 1910 and —encouraged by Alfred Steiglitz —began to embrace the camera as a fine art medium and tool in his painting process. In 1920 he collaborated with Paul Strand on the film Manhatta (1921), which captured New York’s rapidly changing cityscape. He also photographed Ford Motor Company’s River Rouge factory in Dearborn, Michigan. His orderly views of automotive plants were used for a promotional campaign celebrating the power and innovation of American industry, and later served as sources for his paintings.
American, 1883–1965.
