Joe Magarac Returns

As legend tells it, Joe Magarac, a Slavic immigrant from Braddock, Pennsylvania, stood over seven feet tall and was literally a man of steel. This untiring goliath worker gave his life to the mills, turning out 2,000 tons of steel per day. Using William Gropper’s 1947 painting of Joe Magarac as the central focus, this exhibition explores the cultural and social dimensions of Pittsburgh’s most famous folklore hero and his resonances in the local imagination, then and now. 

This exhibition includes a new installation by artist Quaishawn Whitlock that explores the resonances between the stories of John Henry and Joe Magarac.

Presented by the University Art Gallery with generous support from Humanities Engage, the Mellon Foundation, and the Marstine Family Foundation. Special thanks to Rivers of Steel, the University Library System (ULS), and the Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka.

For associated events and programming click here.