Roundout Creek

Object NamePrint

Artist / Maker Albert William Heckman (American, 1893 - 1971)

Date1930s

MediumEtching

Dimensions5 7/16 x 11 5/16 in. (13.8 x 28.7 cm)

ClassificationsPrints and Printing Plates

Credit LineTransferred from the Applied Art Department, Iowa State University. In the permanent collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museusms, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberUM82.95

Status

Not on view

Collections

Works of Art on Paper & Photography

CultureAmerican

Label TextRoundout Creek is a 100-mile long tributary of the Hudson River feeding into Roundout Reservoir in the Kingston-Woodstock area of New York State. This area is considered part of the Catskill Mountain Range, rich in flora and fauna. Pictured is a small barge-like boat, other privet fishing boats, and a train on one of the two bridge types depicted. River traffic in the form of barges was quite common to link major cities and towns together. Another connection to industry in this work of art is the railroad, which was gaining in popularity as an alternative way to transport goods. Trains were an efficient \means of transportation in this area because they could easily traverse the mountains, unlike other modes of travel. The hazy quality to the sky could signify an ominous presence, or pollution due to a location near an industrialized area. One can note the undertones of the Depression era in Heckman's work, the surreal landscape, the modes living means, and the darkened sky symbolically closing in on the scene. Heckman was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania in 1893. He studied at the Leipzig Institute of Graphic Art and Columbia University. He lived in New York City and spent his summers in Woodstock, New York.

PeriodDepression Era

SignedTitled in pencil, lower, left, "Roundout Creek"; signed in pencil, lower right, "Albert Heckman" Marked on back with black grease pencil "HEC-3".

Locations