Olivia
Lithography spread quickly after its invention in Germany at the end of the 18th century (Miller). The new technique saw a reduction in labor from previous methods, most notably relief and intaglio prints (Miller). Embracing a new, industrialized economy, print artists became print teams as tasks were divided into inkers, printers, colorers, and grainers (Miller). Eventually, the art conformed to the demands of society, filling the niche markets for “advertisements, trade cards, sheet music, and portraits” (Miller 299).
Within this growing market, Nathaniel Currier found the necessary work to support his disadvantaged family (Currier and Ives Foundation). After mastering the trade of lithography while employed by the brothers Pendleton, Currier was lured to Philadelphia by work as a preparer of stones for the printer M.E.D. Brown (Currier and Ives Foundation). This lucrative position afforded Currier his first interactions with the world of publishing as he prepared stones for the American Journal of Sciences and Arts (Currier and Ives Foundation).
This familiarity with the publishing world eased the artist’s introduction into the production of disaster scenes after opening his very own print shop, Currier & Stodart (Currier and Ives Foundation). This new area of expertise, the stirring depictions of newsworthy tragedies, won Currier his name (Currier and Ives Foundation). Quenching the popular thirst for gruesome crises and thrilling commotions, Currier rose to the forefront of the printing world (Currier and Ives Foundation). Pivotal to the printer’s triumph was his first sensation, the print entitled Awful Conflagration of the Steamboat Lexington in Long Island Sound on Monday Evening, January 18, 1840, by which melancholy occurrence over One Hundred Persons Perished (Currier and Ives Foundation).
As the information-rich title suggests, the print serves as a pictorial tribute to the steamship Lexington’s unfortunate wreckage. As the disaster stole the lives of nearly everyone on board, the nation mourned a tragedy of the new industrial age. The swelling curiosity bred the ideal environment for such a print. Soon after the fire, the print was published by the New York Sun, New York’s largest newspaper of the era (Springfield Museums). The wild popularity of the print kept Currier’s presses running the image continuously for months afterward (Springfield Museums).
In keeping with the melodramatic intents, Awful Conflagration of the Steamboat Lexington emphasizes the danger and fright of the situation compositionally. The diagonal lines of the billows of smoke and the disrupted clouds lead the eye frantically across the work, translating the mayhem. The rounded edges of the plume of smoke and the wispy waves echo a spiraling motif, one that emphasizes the turbulence and disorder of the situation. Yet, lines of perspective, especially the crests of waves and the smokestack’s reflection, draw the eye back, toward the ship, the focal point of the disaster. The artist traps the boat and its passengers between two dangers: the rough ocean and the burning fire. Although printed in blacks and whites, Curriers and Ives prints were hand painted with color; the vivid hues of this print accentuate the horrors of the disaster. Neither the dark, mysterious waters or the red, sizzling blaze appear hospitable. The artist successfully condenses the fright of the incident, the true basis for its appeal, into a single image.
The immense success of Currier’s Awful Conflagration of the Steamboat Lexington paved the way for the printmaker’s future disaster images (Springfield Museums). This key subject matter soon filtered into other mass-produced works, creating the basis for the sensational news images that populate journals today.
Works Cited
Currier and Ives Foundation. “Currier and Ives – The History of the Firm.” 2008. Currier and Ives Foundation. 10 December 2012.
< http://www.currierandives.com/>.
Miller, Angela, et al. American Encounters: Art, History, and Cultural Identity. London: Prentice Hall, 2008. 299.
Springfield Museums. “Awful Conflagration of the Steam Boat Lexington.” 2012. Springfield Museums. 10 December 2012.
<http://www.springfieldmuseums.org/the_museums/fine_arts/collection/view/3-awful_conflagration_of_the_steam_boat_lexington>.
Image Cited
Springfield Museums. “Awful Conflagration of the Steam Boat Lexington.” 2012. Springfield Museums. 10 December 2012.
<http://www.springfieldmuseums.org/the_museums/fine_arts/collection/view/3-awful_conflagration_of_the_steam_boat_lexington>.
Lithography spread quickly after its invention in Germany at the end of the 18th century (Miller). The new technique saw a reduction in labor from previous methods, most notably relief and intaglio prints (Miller). Embracing a new, industrialized economy, print artists became print teams as tasks were divided into inkers, printers, colorers, and grainers (Miller). Eventually, the art conformed to the demands of society, filling the niche markets for “advertisements, trade cards, sheet music, and portraits” (Miller 299).
Within this growing market, Nathaniel Currier found the necessary work to support his disadvantaged family (Currier and Ives Foundation). After mastering the trade of lithography while employed by the brothers Pendleton, Currier was lured to Philadelphia by work as a preparer of stones for the printer M.E.D. Brown (Currier and Ives Foundation). This lucrative position afforded Currier his first interactions with the world of publishing as he prepared stones for the American Journal of Sciences and Arts (Currier and Ives Foundation).
This familiarity with the publishing world eased the artist’s introduction into the production of disaster scenes after opening his very own print shop, Currier & Stodart (Currier and Ives Foundation). This new area of expertise, the stirring depictions of newsworthy tragedies, won Currier his name (Currier and Ives Foundation). Quenching the popular thirst for gruesome crises and thrilling commotions, Currier rose to the forefront of the printing world (Currier and Ives Foundation). Pivotal to the printer’s triumph was his first sensation, the print entitled Awful Conflagration of the Steamboat Lexington in Long Island Sound on Monday Evening, January 18, 1840, by which melancholy occurrence over One Hundred Persons Perished (Currier and Ives Foundation).
As the information-rich title suggests, the print serves as a pictorial tribute to the steamship Lexington’s unfortunate wreckage. As the disaster stole the lives of nearly everyone on board, the nation mourned a tragedy of the new industrial age. The swelling curiosity bred the ideal environment for such a print. Soon after the fire, the print was published by the New York Sun, New York’s largest newspaper of the era (Springfield Museums). The wild popularity of the print kept Currier’s presses running the image continuously for months afterward (Springfield Museums).
In keeping with the melodramatic intents, Awful Conflagration of the Steamboat Lexington emphasizes the danger and fright of the situation compositionally. The diagonal lines of the billows of smoke and the disrupted clouds lead the eye frantically across the work, translating the mayhem. The rounded edges of the plume of smoke and the wispy waves echo a spiraling motif, one that emphasizes the turbulence and disorder of the situation. Yet, lines of perspective, especially the crests of waves and the smokestack’s reflection, draw the eye back, toward the ship, the focal point of the disaster. The artist traps the boat and its passengers between two dangers: the rough ocean and the burning fire. Although printed in blacks and whites, Curriers and Ives prints were hand painted with color; the vivid hues of this print accentuate the horrors of the disaster. Neither the dark, mysterious waters or the red, sizzling blaze appear hospitable. The artist successfully condenses the fright of the incident, the true basis for its appeal, into a single image.
The immense success of Currier’s Awful Conflagration of the Steamboat Lexington paved the way for the printmaker’s future disaster images (Springfield Museums). This key subject matter soon filtered into other mass-produced works, creating the basis for the sensational news images that populate journals today.
Works Cited
Currier and Ives Foundation. “Currier and Ives – The History of the Firm.” 2008. Currier and Ives Foundation. 10 December 2012.
< http://www.currierandives.com/>.
Miller, Angela, et al. American Encounters: Art, History, and Cultural Identity. London: Prentice Hall, 2008. 299.
Springfield Museums. “Awful Conflagration of the Steam Boat Lexington.” 2012. Springfield Museums. 10 December 2012.
<http://www.springfieldmuseums.org/the_museums/fine_arts/collection/view/3-awful_conflagration_of_the_steam_boat_lexington>.
Image Cited
Springfield Museums. “Awful Conflagration of the Steam Boat Lexington.” 2012. Springfield Museums. 10 December 2012.
<http://www.springfieldmuseums.org/the_museums/fine_arts/collection/view/3-awful_conflagration_of_the_steam_boat_lexington>.