Old Steve, Victim of Molten Steel
Date1905
Artist
Thornton Oakley
(American painter and illustrator, 1881–1953)
Illustration Citation"Toilers of the River," by Thornton Oakley, in Harper's Monthly Magazine, February 1906
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions22 1/2 × 25 in. (57.2 × 63.5 cm)
frame: 25 x 27 1/2 in. (63.5 x 69.9 cm)
frame: 25 x 27 1/2 in. (63.5 x 69.9 cm)
Credit LineAcquisition Fund, 1983
Object number1983-130
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPAINTING
Label TextIn this article and its illustrations, Thornton Oakley centers on dangers to the immigrant working men, and damage to the natural surroundings, from the steel mills along the Monongahela River in Western Pennsylvania. He also highlights the human and environmental cost of the expansion of railroads, a primary factor in America's Industrial Revolution. The subject of the picture was injured when molten steel poured over his legs, and his permanent disability has reduced him to the position of railroad flagger and to poverty.
