Tapping The Furnaces
c. 1930-1932
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
etching
Dimensions
plate: 226 x 177 mm sheet: 279 x 209 mm
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Reba and Dave Williams Collection, Gift of Reba and Dave Williams
Accession Number
2008.115.3904
Art Historical Context
**Tapping the Furnaces** is a striking etching by French artist Leon René Pescheret, created around 1930-1932. Measuring 226 x 177 mm on the plate and 279 x 209 mm on the sheet, this print captures the raw power of industrial labor during the early years of the Great Depression. Pescheret, renowned for his meticulous etchings of factories and steel mills—often inspired by America's industrial heartland—brings to life the dramatic moment of "tapping," when molten metal is released from blast furnaces, symbolizing the era's mechanical might and human endurance. Etching, Pescheret's favored medi...