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Charles Sheeler (American, 1883-1965), "Design for World's Fair", 1939, conte crayon on paper, pencil-signed and dated lower center, pencil-signed, titled and inscribed "Ridgefield, Conn. c/o Downtown Gallery, 113 W. 13 St., NYC", "Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, 50 West 57th Street, NYC" labels en verso, image 9 in. x 7 in., sheet 10 1/2 in. x 9 1/4 in., framed. Note: Charles Sheeler was born in Philadelphia in 1883 and attended the School of Industrial Art in Philadelphia as well as the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. A self-taught photographer, Sheeler worked for a brief time documenting local buildings for architects, then later photographing the interior of his own home, focusing on the play between the planes of light and shadow. This work resulted in a 1920 collaboration with the photographer Paul Strand on the short film “Manhatta,” which focused on the ever-changing cityscape of New York City. His concentration on industrial architecture including skyscrapers, bridges, and factories led to his association with the Precisionist movement. The years preceding the completion of the 1939 drawing offered here were an exciting time for the artist. In 1931, art dealer Edith Halpert offered Sheeler exclusive representation at her Downtown Gallery in New York. As a result, Sheeler attained broader recognition for his precise, yet evocative, interpretations of utilitarian forms and attracted important commissions. From 1939 to 1940, he traveled across the country on assignment for Fortune magazine, photographing locations for a series of paintings on the theme of “Power.” The six finished paintings depicted icons of American industry such as airplanes, locomotives, power plants, and dams, and he would later utilize his source materials for related works. Sheeler was also the subject of a biography written by the historian and critic Constance Rourke in 1938 and a retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1939. In 1939, Sheeler also opened an exhibition at the New York World’s Fair. The motto of the fair was “The World of Tomorrow.” This theme is reflected in the drawing offered here through the suspended abstract industrial shape reminiscent of skyscrapers and Manhattan architecture, and it also serves as an example of a body of work best described as “exploring the balance between abstraction and representation, photography and painting, an increasingly mechanized present and a more homespun past, uniting all these aspects in a skillful tension.” Ref.: “Downtown Gallery Records, 1824-1974, bulk 1926-1969.” Archives of American Art. http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/downtown-gallery-records-6293/more. Accessed Mar. 21, 2016. Murphy, Jessica. “Charles Sheeler (1883–1965).” Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Nov. 2009. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/shee/hd_shee.htm. Accessed Mar. 21, 2016. “1939 New York World’s Fair.” Wikipedia. Mar. 2, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_New_York_World%27s_Fair. Accessed Mar. 21, 2016.