Barcelona Galvanizing Shop (c.1941) by Francesc Pausas CollGrohmann Museum at Milwaukee School of Engineering
When we opened the Museum in 2007, this painting—given its size and relative importance—was provided a prominent place among the collection on display.
For over 15 years it has greeted guests, patrons, and scholars visiting the Museum.
Noted in the catalogue literature and the auction records as "Brooklyn Galvanizing Shop," 1925, Dr. Grohmann thought it would be a terrific addition to the collection—depicting American industry from the early 20th century, albeit from a well-known Spanish painter.
It is a captivating piece. Location and date aside, we have often discussed the painting with visitors; the idea of naturalistic versus realistic painting, the beauty of the main subject, or the artist’s affinity for her. It has been a splendid conversation over the years.
One, then, could imagine a curator’s surprise when receiving a letter from Señor Joan Roig, a Spanish man who happened to be visiting our online exhibitions from abroad.
In the letter, Sr. Roig shared that his mother-in-law, Sra. Carmen Martínez, had often mentioned that as a young lady there was a painter who wanted to do her portrait, but her father would not allow it.
However, she did ultimately pose for a painting, one the artist created of a scene from the factory for which she worked around the age of fifteen.
This photo was taken in the early 1940s, when Carmen Martínez was a teenager.
The factory, located in Barcelona, was called Can Farrero, S.A. The factory specialized in the manufacture of galvanized steel.
Painter of Portraits or Industries?
It is here worth nothing that Francesc Pausas Coll was primarily known as a portrait painter. He rarely focused on larger scenes, especially those of industry.
Barcelona Galvanizing Shop (c.1941) by Francesc Pausas CollGrohmann Museum at Milwaukee School of Engineering
Was this work created as a ploy to finally paint the portrait Sra. Martínez’s father forbade?
A reasonable question considering the backstory.
With such compelling evidence, along with a charming story, one could hardly doubt Sr. Roig’s impression of the painting. The earlier attributions, those of Brooklyn and 1925, were never previously questioned, as the artist resided in New York City from 1906-1929 and while signed, the painting bears no date in the artist’s hand. However, Coll did return to Barcelona in 1929, where he remained until his death in 1944.
We had not any reason to question the work until now, which sparked a reexamination of this galvanizing shop, moving it from Brooklyn to Barcelona.
Such is the work of keeping and growing a collection of art: the works grow not just in number, but in the quality of their documentation, provenance, and attribution. While we can learn much from studying the works on display, we can also learn a great deal from our visitors, both in-person and virtual, and the stories they share.
