William S. Schwartz 
American, 1896-1977

Power Plant # 2, 1937
Oil on canvas

WPA Collection, 1942

 

Visual Description

This is a painting of a hydroelectric powerplant set in a quarry alongside a river and rolling green hills. The painting uses bold, dark colors like an emerald green for the hills, an aquatic blue for the water, and smoky dark gray for ominous storm clouds. The powerplant itself is a white building with two

transmission towers to its left and a chimney. The powerplant and quarry it sits in are painted in a cube-like fashion, giving dimension to the flat forms. The river, green landscape, and stormy sky surrounding the powerplant are painted with curved brushstrokes, creating a rounded effect for the landscape.

 

Extended Label Text:

Arriving at Ellis Island as a teenager, Russian immigrant William S. Schwartz was impressed by the “power” of the young nation and its largest city: “The drive and clamor of the city echoed in my ears…what strength was symbolized by the city and its thunder! On every side, what pace, what power!”

In Power Plant #2, Schwartz captures the energy of his adopted homeland in another, more literal sense—one that resonates with the infrastructural improvements of the New Deal: a power plant, thunderclouds, and cascading water, latent with hydroelectric energy, are all presented within a cubist-style grid.