In fall 1927, Ford Motor Company commissioned Charles Sheeler to photograph the company’s River Rouge Plant outside Dearborn, Michigan, to mark the introduction of the new Model T. The photographer, who was fascinated by cars and American industry, claimed it was “a job made to order.” Sheeler spent about six weeks at the massive factory, which spanned 1,100 acres and employed about 75,000 people. In the end he made fewer than 40 photographs of the plant and several of them, including Criss-Crossed Conveyors, are regarded as icons of Machine Age–photography.

Gelatin silver print.

The Lane Collection.

2024.2131