Across the Tracks

In Across the Tracks, Niles Spencer presents an industrial complex composed of simple geometric forms deriving from the cylinder and cube. Spencer was associated with Precisionism, a label applied to the work of artists in the United States who depicted realistic yet stylized American subjects with crisp shapes and lines. Beginning in the 1920s during the “Machine Age,” Precisionists responded to the modernization shaping the nation at the time. Their works often featured urban or industrial settings. Some artists admired technological advances, while others expressed concern about their effects on the land and workers. Spencer’s painting seems to reflect both tendencies. Despite the perfection of the architectural elements, the clouded sky and a palette of grays and browns create a feeling of stillness and silence.