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The Grohmann Museum on the MSOE campus is still an under-recognized gem housing a unique collection of artwork depicting an eternal and necessary if sometimes frustrating human activity—work, in many of its forms. Masterworks from the Grohmann Museum includes full-color reproductions of some 300 paintings from the collection. Accompanying the visuals are illuminating, informative essays by German art historian Klaus Turk.
The Grohmann collection is unusual for its emphasis on a topic rather than a region, time period or genre. American and European artists from many nations painted these depictions of work from the late 15th through the late 20th centuries. The styles begin with academic realism and end in fierce impressionism. Like the museum, the book is arranged according to occupation, including vivid impressions of glassblowers, weavers, loggers and coalminers. There are many fiery images of foundries and factories from an age when smoking chimneys stood for progress, even as they cast shadows over the landscape.
