At Madrid Coal Mine, New Mexico

Carl Redin, At Madrid Coal Mine, New Mexico, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.166
Copied Carl Redin, At Madrid Coal Mine, New Mexico, 1934, oil on canvas, 30 x 38 in. (76.2 x 96.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.166
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Artwork Details

Title
At Madrid Coal Mine, New Mexico
Artist
Date
1934
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
30 x 38 in. (76.2 x 96.5 cm)
Credit Line
Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • New Deal — Public Works of Art Project — New Mexico
  • Landscape — New Mexico — Madrid
  • Travel — land — train
  • Architecture — vehicle — train
  • Architecture — industry — mine
  • Landscape — mountain
Object Number
1964.1.166
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1964.1.166

Artwork Description

The men of Madrid, New Mexico, went to work every day in these hulking, rusty buildings that led to the coal mines of the Albuquerque and Cerrillos Coal Company. Artist Carl Redin specialized in painting picturesque New Mexico landscapes, but to find "the American Scene" requested by the PWAP, he turned to the mines of Madrid. It was a company town in which every citizen’s life was dominated by coal and the company that owned the mines, stores, and houses. The company provided distractions to keep the miners and their isolated families content—an amusement hall, Christmas and Easter celebrations, Fourth of July parades, a baseball team. The Christmas lights were so famous that they attracted tourists to town. But Redin centered his painting on the grim mines that produced the coal and the train that hauled it away. Sheds, smokestacks, machines, and slag heaps cover the New Mexico hills and smoke fouls the air. Not a human figure is to be seen. Except for the engineer of the train, all the men are underground.

1934: A New Deal for Artists exhibition label

Related Books

1934_500.jpg
1934: A New Deal for Artists
During the Great Depression, president Franklin Delano Roosevelt promised a “new deal for the American people,” initiating government programs to foster economic recovery. Roosevelt’s pledge to help “the forgotten man” also embraced America’s artists. The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) enlisted artists to capture “the American Scene” in works of art that would embellish public buildings across the country. Although it lasted less than one year, from December 1933 to June 1934, the PWAP provided employment for thousands of artists, giving them an important role in the country’s recovery. Their legacy, captured in more than fifteen thousand artworks, helped “the American Scene” become America seen.