The Furniture Factory

Bumpei Usui

1925 · Oil on canvas · Modern and Contemporary Art

The playful experimentation with perspective and proportions in this depiction of men and boys absorbed in various tasks related to furniture manufacture fills the canvas with frenetic energy. Details, such as the wide range of tools and machinery that animate the interior, reveal Usui’s own extensive knowledge of woodworking. Following his immigration to New York from Japan, Usui integrated into the city’s art community through his trade as a frame maker, through which he met many leading contemporary painters.

Artist

Bumpei Usui

Date

1925

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Purchase, Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund, by exchange, 2014