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Artists›David Plowden

David Plowden

David Plowden

American, 1932

WA-00028942

Photography

Representation

None documented

1

Institutional Exhibitions

133

Works in Collection

137

Assets Indexed

2

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

70%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (3)

WikidataQ5238613 ULAN500068325

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Views over America

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1979

Field Verification (2 fields)

2 cross-verified · 0 single-source

Birth yearDuplicate Merge· 85%✓
NationalityDuplicate Merge· 85%✓

Source Registry (1)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/4655
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

David Plowden is an American photographer who has devoted over six decades to documenting the industrial and infrastructural landscape of North America. Working primarily in black-and-white, he creates large-format photographs of railways, bridges, grain elevators, and vernacular architecture at the threshold of obsolescence. His work combines technical mastery of the photographic medium with a restraint that allows the subject matter to maintain its own dignity and presence. Plowden's photographs are held in major collections including the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 29d ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

—

Medium

Photography

Related Artists

6 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Art Institute of Chicago Museum of Modern ArtNew York

Canonical record

Artworks (133)

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois

1981 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 27.8 × 26.7 cm (11 × 10 9/16 in.); Paper: 35.3 × 27.9 cm (13 15/16 × 11 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Blast Furnace and Stockyards

Blast Furnace and Stockyards

1980 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 26.6 × 29.7 cm (10 1/2 × 11 3/4 in.); Paper: 27.8 × 35.3 cm (11 × 13 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Steel Mill, Blast Furnace, East Chicago, Indiana

Steel Mill, Blast Furnace, East Chicago, Indiana

1980 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 26.6 × 29.7 cm (10 1/2 × 11 3/4 in.); Paper: 27.9 × 35.3 cm (11 × 13 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Superior, Wisconsin

Superior, Wisconsin

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 27.1 × 26.8 cm (10 11/16 × 10 9/16 in.); Paper: 35.2 × 27.7 cm (13 7/8 × 10 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image/paper: 26.6 × 30.4 cm (10 1/2 × 12 in.); Mount: 40.7 × 50.8 cm (16 1/16 × 20 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 26.7 × 30.4 cm (10 9/16 × 12 in.); Paper: 27.9 × 35.2 cm (11 × 13 7/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 26.8 × 26.3 cm (10 9/16 × 10 3/8 in.); Mount: 27.8 × 32.9 cm (11 × 13 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Waukegan, Illinois

Waukegan, Illinois

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 26.9 × 26.7 cm (10 5/8 × 10 9/16 in.); Paper: 27.8 × 35.3 cm (11 × 13 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Steel Mill. 80 inch Hot Strip Mill. Inland Steel Co., E. Chicago, Ind.

Steel Mill. 80 inch Hot Strip Mill. Inland Steel Co., E. Chicago, Ind.

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 25.6 × 29.2 cm (10 1/8 × 11 1/2 in.); Paper: 27.8 × 35.3 cm (11 × 13 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Superior, Wisconsin

Superior, Wisconsin

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 27.2 × 26.7 cm (10 3/4 × 10 9/16 in.); Paper: 35.4 × 27.8 cm (13 15/16 × 11 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 21 × 33.1 cm (8 5/16 × 13 1/16 in.); Paper: 27.8 × 35.2 cm (11 × 13 7/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Taconite Plant, National Mine, Hanna Mining Company, Keewatin, Minnesota

Taconite Plant, National Mine, Hanna Mining Company, Keewatin, Minnesota

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 23.8 × 33.6 cm (9 3/8 × 13 1/4 in.); Paper: 27.9 × 35.3 cm (11 × 13 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Stockyard Inland Steel, East Chicago

Stockyard Inland Steel, East Chicago

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 28.7 × 26.7 cm (11 5/16 × 10 9/16 in.); Paper: 35.3 × 27.9 cm (13 15/16 × 11 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Ore Boat, Superior, Wis.

Ore Boat, Superior, Wis.

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 26.5 × 26.3 cm (10 7/16 × 10 3/8 in.); Paper: 35.2 × 27.9 cm (13 7/8 × 11 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 21.8 × 34 cm (8 5/8 × 13 7/16 in.); Paper: 27.8 × 35.3 cm (11 × 13 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Shovel, Minorea Mine. Virginia, Minn.

Shovel, Minorea Mine. Virginia, Minn.

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 28.2 × 26.6 cm (11 1/8 × 10 1/2 in.); Paper: 35.2 × 27.8 cm (13 7/8 × 11 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Steel Mill. 80 inch Hot Strip Mill. Inland Steel Co., E. Chicago, Ind.

Steel Mill. 80 inch Hot Strip Mill. Inland Steel Co., E. Chicago, Ind.

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 26.4 × 26.4 cm (10 7/16 × 10 7/16 in.); Paper: 35.2 × 27.8 cm (13 7/8 × 11 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Steel Mill, Blast Furnace, East Chicago, Indiana

Steel Mill, Blast Furnace, East Chicago, Indiana

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 26.8 × 26.2 cm (10 9/16 × 10 3/8 in.); Paper: 35.3 × 27.9 cm (13 15/16 × 11 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Steel Mill, Inland Steel Co., East Chicago, Indiana

Steel Mill, Inland Steel Co., East Chicago, Indiana

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 31.6 × 26.7 cm (12 1/2 × 10 9/16 in.); Paper: 35.2 × 27.8 cm (13 7/8 × 11 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Steel Mill, Inland Steel Co., East Chicago, Indiana

Steel Mill, Inland Steel Co., East Chicago, Indiana

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 25.6 × 25.4 cm (10 1/8 × 10 in.); Paper: 27.8 × 35.2 cm (11 × 13 7/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Steel Mill, 80" Hot Strip Mill Finishing Stands, Inland Steel Co., East Chicago, Indiana

Steel Mill, 80" Hot Strip Mill Finishing Stands, Inland Steel Co., East Chicago, Indiana

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 25.7 × 29.1 cm (10 1/8 × 11 1/2 in.); Paper: 27.8 × 35.2 cm (11 × 13 7/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Steel Worker, 44" Hot Strip Mill, Inland Steel Co., East Chicago, Indiana

Steel Worker, 44" Hot Strip Mill, Inland Steel Co., East Chicago, Indiana

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 29.7 × 26.6 cm (11 3/4 × 10 1/2 in.); Paper: 35.2 × 27.8 cm (13 7/8 × 11 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Steel Mill, Inland Steel Co., Ingot Molds, East Chicago, Indiana

Steel Mill, Inland Steel Co., Ingot Molds, East Chicago, Indiana

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 26.7 × 30.4 cm (10 9/16 × 12 in.); Paper: 27.8 × 35.2 cm (11 × 13 7/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Steel Mill, Open Hearth, East Chicago, Indiana

Steel Mill, Open Hearth, East Chicago, Indiana

1979 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 28 × 26.5 cm (11 1/16 × 10 7/16 in.); Paper: 35.2 × 27.9 cm (13 7/8 × 11 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

View all 133 artworks →

Artwork sources (2)

133 published of 134 catalogued · 134 with image

Art Institute Chicago
132 published132 img
MoMA
1 publishedof 2 catalogued2 img

Record

Images

Artsy artist portrait

Artsy

Steel Mill. 80 inch Hot Strip Mill. Inland Steel Co., E. Chicago, Ind. (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Steel Mill. 80 inch Hot Strip Mill. Inland Steel Co., E. Chicago, Ind. (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

2

Collections2

Art Institute of Chicago Museum of Modern Art

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

Group Exhibition Views over America

New York · 1979