Joseph StellaAmerican, 1877–1946By-Products Plants
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “By-Products Plants” now? Art Institute of Chicago, Gallery 161, Chicago. Yes, on view now. Checked September 29, 2026.
Chicago, United States
Closed· opens tomorrow at 11:00 AM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
While studying art in Italy and France from 1909 to 1913, Joseph Stella was captivated by Italian Futurism, a movement that employed Cubism’s fragmented forms to express the mechanization and speed of modern life. After he returned to the United States, Stella used Futurism to convey the dynamism of American industry in paintings such as By-Products Plants, which depicts the factories that extract ammonia, tar, and light oils when coal is burned. Such mechanical processes fascinated Stella, and he later recalled, “opposite my studio was a huge factory . . . towering with the gloom of a prison. At night fires gave to innumerable windows menacing blazing looks of demons.” Stella invested his factory paintings with this sense of eerie mystery.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Details
- Accession number
- 1955.816
What it shows
In the catalog
Display history
On view · Gallery 161
Art Institute of Chicago · Sep 28, 2026 — now · Verified
Was on view · Gallery 271
Art Institute of Chicago · Aug 19, 2026 — Sep 28, 2026 · Verified
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — © the artist or rights holder
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