Homestead, PA 19th-20th century

Curator: My first impression is a melancholic one, almost a sigh trapped in sepia tones. Editor: Indeed. What we're looking at is Joseph Pennell's "Homestead, PA," housed right here at the Harvard Art Museums. It captures a pivotal moment of American industrialization. Curator: It's hauntingly beautiful, though, isn’t it? The smoke almost looks like a halo around the factories, a baptism in industry. Editor: Pennell was certainly drawn to the drama of industry, but he was also a keen observer of its social impact. The mills transformed places like Homestead into boomtowns. Curator: I see it as a portrait of progress, and the heavy burden we ask our landscapes to carry. The skeletal bridge reaching across the water, the grimy factories... they all have a certain poetry. Editor: Poetry, yes, but also a stark reminder of the costs of progress. A lot of artists at the time were examining what industrial labor was doing to communities. Curator: I'll leave feeling a bit somber, but also a little thrilled by the sheer, bold energy of the image. Editor: And hopefully, with a better understanding of the complex relationship between art, industry, and society.