Clairton, 1997

Mezzotint.

Signed, dated, titled on pale green paper, from the edition of 75, published by the Print Club of Cleveland, with their blindstamp on recto. Plate 13 1/2 x 16 3/4 inches; 343 x 425 mm. Sheet 18 3/4 x 23 in; 476 x 584 mm

From “At the Heart of Progress: Coal, Iron, and Steam Since 1750: Industrial Imagery from the John P. Eckblad Collection,” at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College: “...the highlight is Craig McPherson’s “Clairton” (1997), a dark, haunting print depicting fire at night at a mill in Pennsylvania that turns coal to coke, the same process that helped start the Industrial Revolution at Coalbrookdale. But much has changed in three centuries, and rather than being a symbol of progress, this plant looks like a dangerous relic from the past.”