Collection of Arthur Gray, Cleveland, Ohio Rachel Davis Fine Arts, Shaker Heights, Ohio, 1994 André Emmerich Gallery, New York Keith De Lellis Gallery, New York
Exhibited
The Arthur Gray Collection, Rachel Davis Fine Arts, Shaker Heights, Ohio, 23 April – 20 May 1994
Literature
Rachel Davis Fine Arts, The Arthur Gray Collection, pl. 95
Catalogue Essay
The image offered here, with its bold abstraction of structure and shadow, demonstrates Bourke-White’s ability to incorporate avant-garde compositional ideas into her commercial and editorial work.
This photograph comes originally from the collection of artist, photographer, and poet Arthur Smith Gray (1884-1976). Based in Cleveland, Gray was a principal figure in the marketing department of Standard Oil of Ohio from 1929 to 1949, where he redesigned nearly every public-facing aspect of the company, creating a consistent and recognizable brand. It is believed that Gray shared darkroom space with Bourke-White during her formative years in Cleveland in the late 1920s. Bourke-White also produced photographs for Standard Oil during Gray’s tenure. The two remained in contact after Bourke-White moved to New York City.
Although the circumstances behind Gray’s poem From Orchids to Steel are unknown, it seems to provide an apt description of Bourke-White’s approach to photographing industry:
Slip of a woman that drives you to picture steel and steam
What is there in your softness that craves such hardness and heat
Your will in hand (steel) Your feelings intense (heat)
Does your body thrill as your consciousness receives the impact of plunging masses of steel; surging volumes of steam, and roaring blinding fires
Must your love be of such mettle (or come of such mettle)