Storage Tanks At Rondout 1937

This is a print of Storage Tanks at Rondout by Albert William Heckman. It’s made up of countless tiny marks and gradations of tone. The marks almost disappear, creating a dreamy industrial scene that could be from any time. Looking closely, you can see how the granular texture creates a sense of atmosphere. It’s almost as if the whole thing is covered in a fine layer of dust. The artist seems to have taken real pleasure in the subtleties of light and shade. Notice the way the light glances off the curved surfaces of the tanks, making them seem almost inflated. There’s a ladder on the side of one of the tanks, a tiny gesture that brings the whole scene to life. Heckman’s work has a lot in common with Charles Sheeler’s, another artist who found beauty in the industrial landscape. There’s a similar sense of stillness and order in both of their work, a sense that the world is a rational place, even when it’s full of factories and storage tanks.