This exhibition celebrates the MFA’s unparalleled holdings of works by Charles Sheeler, presenting 40 photographs from three significant series by him. Sheeler initially took up photography as a way to make a living. His experiments with the medium included the 1916–17 series of photographs capturing various elements of an 18th-century house he rented in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The sequence was among the most abstract and avant-garde work being made in the US at the time. In 1920, Sheeler collaborated with Paul Strand on the short film Manhatta; abstract stills from the film are presented alongside larger prints of Sheeler’s cinematic images of New York City, produced shortly afterwards. The film will also be on view in the gallery. The exhibition culminates with the 1927 photographs of the Ford Motor Company plant, commissioned to celebrate Ford’s Model A. Find out more about the Charles Steeler exhibition from MFA Boston’s website.
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Ford Plant – Stamping Press (1927), Charles Sheeler. © The Lane Collection; courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Manhatta – Through a Balustrade (1920), Charles Sheeler. © The Lane Collection; courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Manhatta – Rooftops (1920), Charles Sheeler. © The Lane Collection; courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Doylestown House – Stairs from Below (1916–17), Charles Sheeler. © The Lane Collection; courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Ford Plant – Criss‐Crossed Conveyors (1927), Charles Sheeler. © The Lane Collection; ourtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
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