Cement Plant

Three men are working in the yard of a cement and tar factory, located alongside a river; they lean into their work of moving large drums. There are small smokestacks on the building and tugs hauling barges in the background. Wilson uses asymmetrical lines, oriented in different directions, to shape the composition—including rooflines, roadways, river banks, lines of barrels, and even stacked pallets. The factory building is radically compressed into geometric shapes. Considering its industrial subject matter, the painting’s earth tones and splashes of pastel colors are visually pleasing and harmonize with the river and buildings on the opposite shore. The distinctively shaped bridge suggests that it might be one located at Hell’s Gate, in which case there is an intriguing historical possibility: at this time, WPA funds were constructing a massive swimming complex at Astoria Park that required a lot of concrete. Juxtaposing that job site and Wilson’s painting clarifies the choices he made to idealize the worth of public works and a return of employment.

Note: records indicate that this painting was allocated to "Sen. Buckley." This may have been John L. Buckley, who represented NY State Senate District 15 between 1927 and 1942.