(facing page) Saul Berman's detailed, reportorial painting depicts workers clearing snow from the New York Navy Yard during the hard winter of 1933-34. Piles oftimbers lying in the snow recall the fleets ofsailing vessels and steamships built by these shipyards along the East River in Brooklyn both for the navy and for the merchant marine since the 18th century. Empty dry docks along the river in the background indicate that yard workers often had no other work to do other than clear snow. The brick building in the foreground displays the Blue Eagle symbol ofthe National Recovery Administration in its window to indicate that the lumber company adheres to the N RA codes for prices, wages, and hours. The negotiation of these NRA codes set offstrikes in many industries, and the shipbuilding business was no exception. In early 1934, after the strikes were settled, New York shipyards still lacked work and pleaded for federal projects to keep men employed A Jew years later, World ~r 11 would attract record numbers of men and women to the shipyards that languish idle here under gray skies.
Golden Gate Bridge by Ray Strong, oil on canvas. This panoramic depiction ofthe Golden Gate Bridge under construction pays tribute to the ambitious feat of engineering required to span the mouth of San Francisco Bay. The view is towards the north from the San Francisco side to the hills ofMarin County, where the first bright orange tower rises. Tugboats and a freighter crossing through the opening typifj the busy shipping that would routinely pass beneath the span. The bridge, therefore, had to have the highest deck ever built. Two massive concrete structures in the foreground anchor the cables that will support the deck. The intense colors and active brushwork convey the artist's infectious optimism. Hundreds of tourists who shared the artist's excitement came to gaze at this massive and impressive project. Despite the financial strains ofthe Great D epression and a powerful storm that washed away a trestle in the fall of 1933, work on the bridge continued. This painting, a celebration ofAmerican engineering and perseverance, was chosen by President Roosevelt to hang in the White House. Sea History gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in presenting these works on our pages; much of the information in the introduction came from the exh ibit catalogue, 1934: A New Deal for Artists by Roger G. Kennedy, with Ann Prentice Wagner, and from its foreword by the museum's director, Elizabeth Broun. Captions and images courtesy of the Smithso nian American Art Museum. -Deirdre O 'Regan, Editor
SEA HISTORY 128, AUTUMN 2009
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