dieser beitrag wurde verfasst in: englisch (eng/en)
künstler: Boardman Robinson
titel: The History of Trade
jahr: 1929
+: 10 panels
«In the 1920’s, Edgar Kaufmann commissioned Benno Janssen and William Cocken to completely re-design the main sales floor of the “The Big Store,” the flagship store of the Kaufmann’s chain (later sold to Macy’s). The result was an art deco masterpiece of black Carrara glass columns, bronze metalwork, terrazzo floors, and shiny cases from Pittsburgh Plate glass.
Within the striking art deco interior, hung ten mural panels, Boardman Robinson’s The History of Trade, a subject that might seem apropos to a sales floor. Robinson’s narrative depicted the global history of commercial trade from Marco Polo’s travels to the Far East and the bargaining of Colonists with Native Americans in the 16th century. The cycle even included some more problematic moments in this history, such as a panel devoted to the Atlantic slave trade. Presented in bold colors, strong geometric shapes and painted in automobile paint, Robinson’s panels complemented Janssen’s art deco design, signaling a new era in mural painting in America.
[…]
Robinson’s mural cycle was removed from the sales floor in the 1950s, when the store was renovated, and placed into the care of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation. In 1993 and 1996, the ten panels were sold to the Colorado Springs Art Center, where Robinson taught from 1930 to 1947.»
(Sylvia Rhor, Ph.D.)
