Teeming Ingots
James E. Allen, American, 1894 - 1964
1935
Etching and drypoint on laid paper
Plate: 11 7/8 × 9 13/16 in. (30.2 × 25 cm)
Sheet: 15 1/4 × 12 7/8 in. (38.7 × 32.7 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Mrs. Hersey Egginton in memory of her son, Everett Egginton, Class of 1921
PR.954.20.8
Publisher
Society of American Etchers, New York
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
20th century
Object Name
Research Area
Not on view
Inscriptions
Signed, in graphite, lower right margin: James E Allen
Label
In this powerful image of industrial labor, James Allen demonstrates the intense heat in this space with dramatic light and shadow. With focus and calm, two workers use a prod to guide the crucible, which pours its molten steel into molds to solidify into bars or ingots. Depicting a dangerous job, Allen presents the workers as strong and stalwart, protected only by their goggles and work gloves. This heroization of the everyday laborer was a typical theme of American art in the 1930s and 1940s.
From the 2026 exhibition Division of Labor: Work in the United States, curated by Amelia Kahl (Barbara C. & Harvey P. Hood 1918 Senior Curator of Academic Programming) and Alisa Swindell (Associate Curator of Photography)
Exhibition History
Division of Labor: Work in the United States, Jaffe and Hall Galleries, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hamphshire, July 25–November 7, 2026.
Looking for America: Prints of Rural Life from the 1930's and 1940's, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, December 3, 1994-March 5, 1995
Publication History
Barbara J. MacAdam, Looking for America: Prints of Rural Life from the 1930s and 1940s, Hanover, New Hampshire: Trustees of Dartmouth College, 1994, listed no. 1.
Provenance
Collected by Hersey Egginton (1875-1951); bequeathed to his wife, Mary E. (Benner) Egginton (1875-1962), Garden City, New York, 1951; given to present collection, 1954.
Catalogue Raisonne
Ryan 88
This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.
We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu