Yousuf Karsh: Industrial Images
January 31 to July 5, 2009
Yousuf Karsh, the iconic Canadian photographer known for his portraits of prime ministers, presidents, movie stars, authors, philosophers, scientists, artists, popes, and other luminaries of the twentieth century, was also a commercial and industrial photographer.
In an effort to endorse pride in domestic production, Karsh was commissioned by Ford of Canada in the 1950s to take pictures of the Windsor assembly line, foundry, and trade school. Karsh spent two weeks producing photographs that were eventually placed in the company’s annual report and travelled across the country as an exhibition. “It is the men who tell the company’s story best,” said Karsh. “They give the machines life and movement. It is really their skill that gives [a car] strength and beauty.” Karsh’s unique approach to his industrial portraits—concentrating on his subjects instead of the machinery—gave his sitters a heroic stature, transforming ordinary automotive workers into stars. Gow Crapper, a worker photographed putting trim cord on a rear window, resembled a young James Dean, and the photo of Emric (Jimmy) Saska, a set-up man, was one of the most popular images reproduced in magazines at the time. Karsh’s portraits captured the industrial worker’s determination and pride, glamourizing the otherwise harsh industrial environment.
The Yousuf Karsh: Industrial Images exhibition is a culmination of Karsh’s industrial and commercial work with Ford of Canada, Atlas Steel in Welland, Ontario, and Sharon Steel in Pennsylvania, and a variety of other commercial images. The exhibition explores the tone of Karsh’s industrial and commercial portraits in relation to the work and life philosophies prevalent in post-WWII North America. It also explores consumerism, marketing, and the political atmosphere in Canada during the 1950s through his portraits. This project is organized and circulated by the Art Gallery of Windsor with the support of the Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited, the Portrait Gallery of Canada, a program of the Library and Archives Canada, the Museums Assistance Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage, CAW-TCA Canada, and Estrellita Karsh.
The Yousuf Karsh: Industrial Images exhibition opens at the McMichael on January 31, 2009.
Activities and Events 
(98.7KB)
Press Kit (528KB)
Yousuf Karsh
, (1908-2002)
Emric (Jimmy) Saska, 1951
Set-Up Man, Plant No. 2. Valve Dept. 39, Ford Motor Company of Canada
Gelatin silver print
Collection of the Ford Motor Company of Canada, Oakville, Ontario
Click on the image below to learn more about this exhibition.
