← Collection
A Generator Shell, Dnieperstroi

A Generator Shell, Dnieperstroi

Margaret Bourke-White
American, 1904–1971
1930
A gelatin silver photograph that captures a shirtless worker using a wrench on the curved shell of a generator at the Dnieperstroi plant, made to dramatize the scale and intensity of industrial labor.
A low, tilted viewpoint presses the figure against a sweeping metal plane where rows of bolts and strong shadows form dynamic diagonals, making the machinery feel monumental and tactile.
Bourke-White’s image helped define 1930s industrial photography by combining documentary reportage with modernist composition to shape visual ideas of technological progress and the heroic worker.
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
13 1/4 × 9 1/4" (33.7 × 23.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the artist
Accession
154.1974
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
View on moma.org ↗

Semantic Neighborhood

Close Near Wide Far

Near field – 8 neighboring works

press T

Keyboard Shortcuts

S Cycle source (semantic/color/artist/...)
P Toggle Sources column
V Cycle center mode (viewer/browser/split)
I Toggle Inspector column
\ Swap split direction
T Toggle toolbar
C Toggle palette strips
Shift+C Sort by color similarity
Shift+H Immersive mode (viewer only)
1-5 Set thumbnail size
? Toggle this help

Column shortcuts require ultrawide (2xl+) viewport

Very Similar

> 65%
Chrysler Corporation 74%

Chrysler Corporation

Margaret Bourke-White

1932

Chrysler Corporation 74% Margaret Bourke-White 1932 Gelatin silver print Photograph Photography 12 7/8 × 9" (32.7 × 22.8 cm) American 149.1974
Electric Furnace, Ludlum Steel Co., Dunkirk, New York 74%

Electric Furnace, Ludlum Steel Co., Dunkirk, New York

Margaret Bourke-White

c. 1930

Electric Furnace, Ludlum Steel Co., Dunkirk, New York 74% Margaret Bourke-White c. 1930 Gelatin silver print Photograph Photography 12 3/4 × 10" (32.4 × 25.4 cm) American 150.1974
Steel Worker: Magnitogorsk 73%

Steel Worker: Magnitogorsk

Margaret Bourke-White

1935

Steel Worker: Magnitogorsk 73% Margaret Bourke-White 1935 Photogravure Photograph Photography 9 1/4 × 13" (23.5 × 33.1 cm) American 393.1942.3
Iron Puddler, Red October Rolling Mills, Stalingrad 71%

Iron Puddler, Red October Rolling Mills, Stalingrad

Margaret Bourke-White

1930

Iron Puddler, Red October Rolling Mills, Stalingrad 71% Margaret Bourke-White 1930 Gelatin silver print Photograph Photography 12 1/2 × 8 3/4" (31.8 × 22.... American 155.1974
A Worker in his Shrine--The Heart of the Turbine 71%

A Worker in his Shrine--The Heart of the Turbine

Lewis Wickes Hine

1920

A Worker in his Shrine--The Heart of the Turbine 71% Lewis Wickes Hine 1920 Gelatin silver print Photograph Photography 10 × 8" (25.4 × 20.4 cm) American 46.1974
Untitled 70%

Untitled

Margaret Bourke-White

c. 1933

Untitled 70% Margaret Bourke-White c. 1933 Gelatin silver print Photograph Photography 13 1/8 × 9 3/16" (33.4 × 23... American 229.1954
Untitled 70%

Untitled

Margaret Bourke-White

February 1931

Untitled 70% Margaret Bourke-White February 1931 Gelatin silver print Photograph Photography 13 3/16 × 9 3/16" (33.5 × 2... American 1633.2001
Blast Furnaces, Ford Motor Company 70%

Blast Furnaces, Ford Motor Company

Margaret Bourke-White

c. 1930

Blast Furnaces, Ford Motor Company 70% Margaret Bourke-White c. 1930 Gelatin silver print Photograph Photography 9 × 13 1/4" (22.9 × 33.7 cm) American 151.1974