Rod Mill - Sheffield Steel Corporation

Etching on wove paper.

Edition of 60. 

Part of a set of prints commissioned by the Sheffield Steel Corporation in 1937. 

Signed, numbered, and titled in pencil. 

Jackson Lee Nesbitt is arguably one of the most versatile printmakers when it comes to depicting the heartland of the United States in the 20th century. His agrarian subject matters are any bit as attractive as his portraits and industrial images. With his choice of etching to depict the Sheffield Steel Corporation rather than lithography which Nesbitt used often, the artist shows his artistic intelligence. The effect of light emitted by the red-hot steel rods is uncanny. And while this composition may seem quite matter of fact, the poetic beauty of the well-organized shop floor, as well as the contrast and the grayscale are truly mesmerizing. One would almost dare say that what Martin Lewis did for rainy New York imagery, Nesbitt did any bit as well depicting metallurgy. The finesse of his line is also astounding.