Charles Sheeler, Jr.

American Charles Sheeler was a painter who represented American Realism, more specifically Precisionism. He is also considered one of the best photographers of the 20th century. Sheeler studied in Philadelphia and Paris. His education included instruction in industrial drawing and the applied arts at the School of Industrial Art in Philadelphia (1900-03), followed by traditional training in drawing and painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1903-06).

One of Sheeler’s first major assignments as a photographer was ordered by the Ford automobile company. He was criticized for copying his own photographs in his paintings but countered the criticism by making changes in the details, some of which were difficult to recognize. Sheeler mainly painted industrial motifs and landscapes. Triggered by his time in Paris, his style developed into a realistic cubism. Starting in 1940, Sheeler’s paintings became predominantly abstract.

Yachts, originally entitled Pertaining to Yachts and Yachting, was a painting in oil on canvas from 1922 (size 50.8 x 61 cm). It is in possession of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Although he was never a sportsman, Sheeler planned to make a film about the New York Yacht Club, which was never realized, however. In advance, he probably studied the club’s sailboats. In 1924, he also converted the motif into a lithograph.