About the Object
In this pastel, Schamberg sketches out the parts of a machine, highlighting the grey curves and forms with pops of color rather than industrial details that might allow us to uncover the function of the machinery.
Additional Information
Schamberg experimented with Cubism, Synchromism, and Precisionism, redirecting his focus away from the Impressionistic influence of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied from 1903 to 1906. In 1912, Schamberg took up photography as a means of supporting himself. That same year, he conceived of the mechanical subject matter for which he is best known. In 1913, he exhibited five works—including his first “mechanical” painting, now lost—at the Armory Show in New York.
The Artist;
Estate of the Artist;
Private Collection;
[Christie’s East, New York, NY, May 5, 1999, lot 147];
[Owings-Dewey Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM];
Jan T. and Marica Vilcek Collection, New York, NY, 2009-2016;
Private Collection. Christie’s East. American Paintings and Sculpture. May 5, 1999, lot 147.
Agee, William C. and Lewis Kachur. Masterpieces of American Modernism: From the Vilcek Collection. London: Merrell, 2013, pp. 100-101, 267, ill. p. 101.
