Industrial Landscape

Art Historical Context

**Industrial Landscape** by Elizabeth Terrell, created around 1939, captures the gritty essence of American industry through gouache on paper. This yet stark 12 15/16 × 20 1/16-inch work depicts factories, laborers, and expansive landscapes, evoking the hum of production lines and the scale of modern manufacturing. As a drawing in gouache—an opaque watercolor medium—Terrell's piece showcases the technique's bold layering and matte finish, ideal for conveying the textures of smokestacks, machinery, and rugged terrain with striking immediacy. Produced during the Great Depression, the artwork was gifted to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1943 by the New York City Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal program that employed thousands of artists to document everyday American life. Terrell's focus on industry and working men reflects the era's Social Realist tendencies, celebrating the dignity of labor amid economic hardship. Displayed in the Modern and Contemporary Art department, it offers a window into pre-World War II urban transformation, reminding visitors of art's role in uplifting spirits and preserving history.

About the Artist

Elizabeth Terrell · 1908–1997

American, 1908–1993