{
"data": {
"id": 159583,
"accession_number": "1996.325",
"share_license_status": "Copyrighted",
"tombstone": "The White Dam, 1939. Raphael Gleitsmann (American, 1910\u20131995). Oil on Masonite; framed: 103.5 x 116 x 5 cm (40 3/4 x 45 11/16 x 1 15/16 in.); unframed: 97.8 x 112.7 cm (38 1/2 x 44 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 1996.325",
"current_location": "228B Cleveland Artists",
"title": "The White Dam",
"creation_date": "1939",
"creation_date_earliest": 1939,
"creation_date_latest": 1939,
"artists_tags": [
"male"
],
"culture": [
"America, Ohio, Cleveland"
],
"technique": "oil on Masonite",
"support_materials": [],
"department": "American Painting and Sculpture",
"collection": "American - Cleveland School",
"type": "Painting",
"measurements": "Framed: 103.5 x 116 x 5 cm (40 3/4 x 45 11/16 x 1 15/16 in.); Unframed: 97.8 x 112.7 cm (38 1/2 x 44 3/8 in.)",
"dimensions": {
"framed": {
"height": 1.035,
"height_inch": 40,
"height_inch_fraction": 0.75,
"width": 1.16,
"width_inch": 45,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.6875,
"depth": 0.05,
"depth_inch": 1,
"depth_inch_fraction": 0.9375
},
"unframed": {
"height": 0.978,
"height_inch": 38,
"height_inch_fraction": 0.5,
"width": 1.127,
"width_inch": 44,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.375
}
},
"state_of_the_work": null,
"edition_of_the_work": null,
"copyright": null,
"inscriptions": [
{
"inscription": "Signed lower left: \"Raphael Gleitsman\"",
"inscription_translation": null,
"inscription_remark": null,
"sortorder": null
}
],
"exhibitions": {
"current": [
{
"id": 311873,
"title": "Transformations in Cleveland Art, 1796-1946",
"description": "Transformations in Cleveland Art, 1796-1946. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 19-July 21, 1996).",
"opening_date": "1996-05-19T04:00:00"
},
{
"id": 227084,
"title": "Made in U.S.A., l'art am\u00e9ricain, 1908-1943, entre nationalisme et internationalisme [FRAME]",
"description": "Made in U.S.A., l'art am\u00e9ricain, 1908-1943, entre nationalisme et internationalisme [FRAME]. Mus\u00e9e des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, F-33000 Bordeaux, France (organizer) (October 5-December 31, 2001); Mus\u00e9e des Beaux-Arts de Rennes, Rennes, France (January 17-March 31, 2002); Mus\u00e9e Fabre, Montpellier, France (April 10-June 25, 2002).",
"opening_date": "2001-10-05T00:00:00"
},
{
"id": 227934,
"title": "The State of the Arts: A Celebration of Ohio's Rich Artistic Heritage",
"description": "The State of the Arts: A Celebration of Ohio's Rich Artistic Heritage. Riffe Gallery, Columbus, OH (organizer) (March 3-May 4, 2003); The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH (January 18-March 28, 2004).",
"opening_date": "2003-03-03T00:00:00"
},
{
"id": 441481,
"title": "Gallery One 2012",
"description": "Gallery One 2012. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 12, 2012-March 5, 2017).",
"opening_date": "2012-12-12T05:00:00"
},
{
"id": 453007,
"title": "Julie Mehretu: Portals",
"description": "Julie Mehretu: Portals. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 16-November 13, 2022).",
"opening_date": "2022-07-16T04:00:00"
}
],
"legacy": [
{
"description": "American Art Today. 1939 New York World's Fair, New York, NY (April 30, 1939-October 27, 1940).",
"opening_date": "1939-04-30T05:00:00Z"
},
{
"description": "Raphael Gleitsman: Paintings 1934-1954. The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH (March 7-28, 1971).",
"opening_date": "1971-03-07T05:00:00Z"
},
{
"description": "A Clevelander Collects Clevelanders: An Exhibit from the Collection of Joseph M. and Elsie Erdelac. Kenneth C. Beck Center for the Cultural Arts, Lakewood, OH (February 12-March 11, 1984).",
"opening_date": "1984-02-12T05:00:00Z"
}
]
},
"provenance": [
{
"description": "The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [],
"date": "1996-",
"sortorder": 1
},
{
"description": "(Sale, Christie\u2019s, New York, Dec. 4, 1996, lot 266, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [
"Consigned by Robert Horton.
"
],
"date": "1996",
"sortorder": 2
},
{
"description": "Robert B. Horton [1939-2012], Cleveland/London",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [],
"date": "1987-1996",
"sortorder": 3
},
{
"description": "(Sale, Wolfs Gallery, Cleveland, OH, April 26, 1987, no. 197, sold to Robert B. Horton)",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [],
"date": "1987",
"sortorder": 4
},
{
"description": "Joe Erdelac [1914-2005], Cleveland, Ohio, consigned to Wolf",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [
"Erdelac purchased the painting from the artist or his family.
"
],
"date": "Possibly the 1960s-1987",
"sortorder": 5
}
],
"find_spot": null,
"related_works": [],
"former_accession_numbers": [],
"did_you_know": "Gleitsmann gave up painting entirely in 1954, claiming he \u201chad nothing to say anymore.\u201d",
"early_education_description": null,
"artlens_description": null,
"description": "Unable to afford tuition, Akron-based Gleitsmann befriended faculty and students at the Cleveland School (now Institute) of Art where eventually he was invited to take classes without registering. The White Dam, a fantastical image of an industrial complex that dwarfs two nude workers, earned his greatest success when it was featured in the New York World\u2019s Fair of 1939. Gleitsmann\u2019s unsettling vision of industry contrasts with the favorable attitudes typically adopted by artists of a previous generation.",
"external_resources": {
"wikidata": [
"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60477346"
],
"internet_archive": []
},
"citations": [
{
"citation": "\"Cleveland's Artistic Tradition Highlighted in Museum Exhibition.\" Spotlights Volume 1, Issue 27 (May 16-23, 1996).",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: Section B",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Christie, Manson & Woods. Important American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture. 1996. Dec. 4, 1996.",
"page_number": null,
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "National Art Society. American Art Today: New York World's Fair. New York: National Art Society, 1939.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p.84",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Raphael Gleitsman: Paintings 1934-1954. Exh. Cat. Youngstown, OH: The Butler Institute of American Art, 1971.",
"page_number": "Mentioned: p.3",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Singer, Clyde. \"Akron Artist Honored at Butler Show.\" Youngstown Vindicator, March 7, 1971.",
"page_number": "Mentioned: p.A30",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Cullinan, Helen. \"Collector shares his treasures of city.\" The Plain Dealer, February 12, 1984.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p.12D",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Beck Center for the Cultural Arts. A Clevelander Collects Clevelanders: An Exhibit from the Collection of Joseph M. and Elsie Erdelac. Exh. Cat. Cleveland: Beck Center for the Cultural Arts, 1984.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p.12 (unpaginated)",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Cullinan, Helen. \"Standard Oil chief is bullish on art.\" The Plain Dealer, May 9, 1987.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: p.20A",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Robinson, William H., et. al. Transformations in Cleveland Art, 1796-1946: Community and Diversity in Early Modern America. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 97",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "\"'96 Spring Arts Preview. Transformations in Cleveland Art: 1825-1945.\" Northern Ohio Live (March 1996).",
"page_number": "Reproduced",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Kempthorne-Snow, Jan C. \"Transformations in Cleveland Art: A Landmark Exhibition Celebrates Cleveland's Bicentennial.\" Cultural Arts Preview 3 (May-August 1996).",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p.3",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Schaefer, Karen. \"A City and its Artists.\" Northern Ohio Live (May 1996).",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: p.12",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "\"Show Documents 'Transformations'\" Canton Repository, May 17, 1996.",
"page_number": "Reproduced (unpaginated)",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "\"Transformations in Cleveland Art, 1796-1946.\" Antiques & The Arts Weekly, May 17, 1996.",
"page_number": "Reproduced (unpaginated)",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Litt, Steven. \"Museum's gift to city: Big bicentennial show is the best imaginable.\" The Plain Dealer, May 19, 1996.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p.4-K",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "\"Week: What To Do.\" Cleveland Free Times, May 22, 1996.",
"page_number": "Reproduced (unpaginated)",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Vallongo, Sally. \"Cleveland proudly shows off its rich, varied art heritage.\" Toledo Blade, May 26, 1996.",
"page_number": "Mentioned p.2",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "\"Cleveland Museum of Art Hosts 'Transformations' through July 21.\" Antique Collector: A Weekly Section of Farm and Dairy, May 30, 1996.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: B1",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Von Glahn, Michael. \"Painting the Town: A Look Along the Timeline of Cleveland's Artistic Heritage.\" Small Business News (June 1996).",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p.47",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Busta, William. \"Art Museum Greatly Honors Our Own.\" The Cleveland Free Times, June 5, 1996.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: p.26",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Harrist Jr., Robert E. \"Book chronicles Cleveland artists and their works.\" The Plain Dealer, August 11, 1996.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p.10J",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Cleveland Museum of Art, \u201cRenaissance Armor, Early Islamic Ceramic, French Vase, Gleitsman Painting Added to Museum Collection,\u201d December 13, 1996, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.",
"page_number": null,
"url": "https://archive.org/details/cmapr4085"
},
{
"citation": "Chassey, Eric de. Made in USA: l'art ame\u0301ricain, 1908-1947. Exh. Cat. Paris: Re\u0301union des muse\u0301es nationaux, 2001.",
"page_number": "Mentioned: p.142; Reproduced: p.175",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "\"L'art americain en quete de son identite.\" Demeures et Chateaux 130 (fevrier-mars 2002).",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Ohio Historical Society, and Ohio History Connection. Timeline: A Publication of the Ohio Historical Society 20, Nos.2,3 (March-June 2003).",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: 81",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Adams, Henry. What's American About American Art?: A Gallery Tour in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2008.",
"page_number": "Mentioned: p.130; Reproduced: p.131",
"url": null
},
{
"citation": "Jones, Jennie. \"Personal Favorite.\" Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 53, No.3 (May/June 2013).",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: p.9",
"url": null
}
],
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1996.325",
"images": {},
"alternate_images": [],
"creditline": "Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund",
"image_credit": null,
"sketchfab_id": null,
"sketchfab_url": null,
"gallery_donor_text": "William P. and Amanda C. Madar Gallery",
"athena_id": 159583,
"creators": [
{
"id": 5913,
"description": "Raphael Gleitsmann (American, 1910\u20131995)",
"extent": null,
"qualifier": null,
"role": "artist",
"biography": "Born in Dayton, Gleitsmann moved to Akron at an early age when his father, an architectural engineer and amateur painter, secured a job in the area. After graduating from high school, he took private drawing lessons for one year with Katherine Calvin. Lacking the funds for tuition, he accepted the invitation of Paul Travis to attend classes informally at the Cleveland School of Art and became friends with other artists there. Primarily a landscape painter, he first exhibited in the annual of the Butler Institute of Art in Youngstown (1936) and had his first solo show at the Massillon (Ohio) Museum (1939). He also exhibited at the New York World\u2019s Fair that year. The Little Gallery of Cleveland College organized his second solo exhibition (1940). In 1943 he began an association with Macbeth Galleries in New York, where he was featured in solo exhibitions (1940s\u201350s). He exhibited in the annuals of the Art Institute of Chicago (1937\u201349), Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia (1944 52), and Carnegie Institute of Art in Pittsburgh (1943\u201348). In 1944\u201345 he served in the U.S. Army as a combat engineer in Europe, an experience that profoundly affected his subsequent subject matter. Previously specializing in American scene depictions, after the war he created images inspired by the bombed cities of Europe. In the late 1940s and early 1950s he taught studio courses at the Akron Art Institute and continued to exhibit on a regular basis. The Akron Art Institute mounted a solo exhibition of his paintings (1948). By the early 1960s Gleitsmann had stopped painting \u201cfor reasons known entirely only to himself.\u201d
\"Transformations in Cleveland Art\" (CMA, 1996), p. 229",
"name_in_original_language": null,
"birth_year": "1910",
"death_year": "1995",
"use_in_caption": true,
"include_extent": false,
"weight": 1
}
],
"legal_status": "accessioned",
"accession_date": "1996-12-02T00:00:00",
"sortable_date": 1939,
"date_added_to_oa": null,
"date_text": "1939",
"collapse_artists": false,
"on_loan": false,
"recently_acquired": false,
"record_type": "object",
"conservation_statement": null,
"has_conservation_images": false,
"cover_accession_number": null,
"is_nazi_era_provenance": false,
"impression": null,
"alternate_titles": [],
"is_highlight": false,
"updated_at": "2026-06-12 11:24:19.412000"
}
}