Harlem River [New York City]

• Artist: Otto Kuhler
• Medium: Etching- By Otto Kuhler
• Publish Details: 1928, signed in pencil by artist. Additional note stating "Ed: 15 Proofs, Plate destroyed"
• Measurements: 12 1/4 x 19 1/2 in. (sheet), 16 1/4 x 20 in. (mat)
• Conditions: Very good condition- small tear in left side of paper

Although best known for his industrial designs, Otto Kuhler (1894–1977) was also a highly regarded fine artist and draftsman. Born in Germany, he was the sole heir to his family’s successful steel enterprise, Kuhler Forges. Following World War I, however, both the business and the family fortune collapsed. After a brief period living in Düsseldorf, and partly through the encouragement of his friend Joseph Pennell, Kuhler turned to etching before emigrating to the United States in 1923.

Kuhler’s etchings of smoke-filled industrial scenes reflected the same optimistic fascination with technology that later inspired his colorful streamlined designs for the Milwaukee Road, the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and other rail companies during the 1930s. His prints successfully bridged the worlds of art and industry, combining freely sketched compositions with a celebration of precise engineering and industrial power.

This fusion of industrial design and artistic vision eventually brought Kuhler widespread recognition. After years of submitting proposals, a locomotive based on his designs was finally constructed. In May 1935, the Hiawatha emerged from the Schenectady, New York yards as the first streamlined steam locomotive built from the ground up in America. Its success marked the beginning of the next phase of Kuhler’s career as one of the country’s leading industrial designers.