Early Abstract and Modernist Painting

Telegraph Poles with Buildings, 1917
Object-Joseph Stella, Telegraph Poles with Buildings
Born in Italy, Joseph Stella immigrated to the United States in 1896. He produced works that combined lyrical sensibility with modernist themes and style, and soon became a leading figure in New York City’s avant-garde circles. Telegraph Poles with Buildings is among the earliest and most representational of a series of works he dedicated to industrial subjects and their brooding mystery. Dominating the composition, the crosslike telegraph pole at the center divides the scene vertically. Lines of wire, sharply edged buildings, and smokestacks complete the industrial vista, devoid of human presence. On the right, the structure’s stark geometry provides a strong contrast to the curls of smoke and clouds surrounding the factory. Including both abstract and representational elements, the painting captures the combination of awe, fascination, and even dread that the new industrial landscape inspired in Stella and his contemporaries.
Learn more about this painting on the Terra Foundation website.
Telegraph Poles with Buildings, 1917
Early Abstract and Modernist Painting

Telegraph Poles with Buildings, 1917

Construction, 1915

Peinture, 1917–18

Painting No. 50, 1914–15

Nature Symbolized #3: Steeple and Trees, 1911–12

Sails, 1911–12

Welcome to Our City, 1921

Boy with Cow, 1921

Super Table, 1925

Purple and Green Leaves, 1927

Boat Going through Inlet, c. 1929

The Green Chair, 1928

Politics, 1931

Brooklyn Bridge, on the Bridge, 1930

Sailboat, Brooklyn Bridge, New York Skyline, 1934

Red Amaryllis, 1937

Room Space, 1937–38

Adolescence, 1947

Highway, 1953

Topcat Boy, 1970

Untitled (Village Street Scene), 1948

Passing Show, 1951

Kalounna in Frogtown, 1986