年代分期
重建時期與工業化興起 Reconstruction and the Rise of Industrialization (1866–1889)
「財產是文明之本。」
— 安德魯卡內基，鋼鐵大王與慈善家，一八八九年
“Upon the sacredness of property, civilization itself depends.”
— Industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, 1889
工業成長與移民潮是此時期美國的特色。鋼鐵產量急遽增加，西部礦藏也促成了交通系統的改善。鐵路發展使西部資源得以東運。放眼全國，若干大企業力圖壟斷市場，城市迅速發展亦造成都市人口居住與管理上的困難。
The growth of industry and a wave of immigrants marked this period in American history. The production of iron and steel rose dramatically, and western resources increased the demand for improved transportation. Railroad development boomed as trains moved goods from the resource-rich West to the East. Nationwide, a few businesses came to dominate whole industries. Cities grew so quickly they could not properly house or govern their growing populations.
[相關展品]
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15a. 美國風貌（AMERICAN LANDSCAPE）by CHARLES SHEELER, 1930
油彩‧畫布，61 x 78.8公分。艾比艾德里奇洛克斐勒致贈 (166.1934) 。數位影像 © 紐約現代美術館/斯卡拉集團/藝術資源圖庫授權。
Oil on canvas, 24 x 31 in (61 x 78.8 cm). Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (166.1934). Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art / Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource.這裡田園牧歌式的標題易使人產生誤解。席勒認為以往古典繪畫的宗教情懷已被機械工廠所取代。當時此畫還被認為是見證美國新文明的勝利。
The bucolic title belies its subject matter: a lone, anonymous figure dwarfed in an enormous sea of factories, which had become a “substitute for religious expression.” At the time of its creation, the painting was viewed as depicting the triumph of American ingenuity.
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16a. 鐵路旁的房子（HOUSE BY THE RAILROAD）by EDWARD HOPPER, 1925
油彩‧畫布，60.96 x 73.66公分，匿名捐贈。數位影像 © 紐約現代美術館/斯卡拉集團/藝術資源圖庫授權。
Oil on canvas, 24 x 29 in. Given anonymously. Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art / Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY.新式鐵道與老式建築並存，冷淡寂寥的氣氛暗示畫家對戰後美國的都市化並無欣喜之情。畫中視角非常低，幾乎忽略了鐵路。另一種相反的說法則是，鐵路已融為房屋的一部份，隱喻美國現代生活奠基於鐵路的蓬勃發展。
From our curiously low viewpoint, the track appears to slice through the lower edge of the structure - or, to regard it in a different way, to become part of the house itself, a new foundation for American life.
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18a. 鄉村音樂起源（SOURCES OF COUNTRY MUSIC）by THOMAS BENTON, 1975
壓克力顏料‧畫布，182.9 x 304.8公分。鄉村音樂名人堂®和博物館提供。藝術品 © 湯瑪斯哈特與芮塔班頓夫婦遺囑信託/UMB銀行受託。
Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum. Art © Thomas Hart Benton and Rita P. Benton Testamentary Trusts/UMB Bank Trustee.壁畫主題有方塊舞、清教徒、讚美詩、斑鳩琴等，保存即將消失的美國風土民情。壁畫中的火車是仿加農砲特快車所繪，由凱西瓊斯駕駛最後車禍殉職。
A comparatively calm scene shows women in their Sunday best with hymnals in their hands, suggesting the importance of church music in Protestant America. The train was modeled on the Cannonball Special, driven and wrecked by Casey Jones, the hero of an American ballad.
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20a. 都市風景 I（CITYSCAPE I）by R. DIEBENKORN, 1963
油彩‧畫布，153.04 x 128.27公分。舊金山現代美術館，由受託人與朋友之基金購買，以紀念海克多艾斯科波沙、布萊頓威爾波、J.D.齊勒巴赫。
Oil on canvas, 60 1/4 x 50 1/2 in. (153.04 x 128.27 cm.). San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Purchased with funds from Trustees and friends in memory of Hector Escobosa, Brayton Wilbur, and J. D. Zellerbach.捕捉陽光顏色，展現一種「態度」。
The artist captured the light by combining green, gray and blue.“A painting is an attitude, like a signthat is hung up to be seen.”
