100 Boots on the Job. Signal Hill, California. February 15, 1972, 12:15 p.m.

1972

Eleanor Antin

Associated Names
Eleanor Antin

Artist, American, born 1935

Phel Steinmetz

Photographer, American, 1944 - 2013

Frye & Smith, Ltd.

Printer, American, founded 1896

This image shows an industrial landscape with oil pumps arranged along a dusty path. The horizon features silhouettes of trees and faint structures, suggesting an urban backdrop. The image is in black-and-white, emphasizing the stark forms of the oil pumps and utility poles. Rows of stakes lead towards the industrial scene on uneven ground. The sky is pale and the light is diffused, creating a monochromatic color palette of varying shades of gray.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    halftone print (postcard)

  • Credit Line

    Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund

  • Dimensions

    image/sheet: 11.5 × 17.75 cm (4 1/2 × 7 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2015.205.21

  • Series Title

    100 Boots

Associated Artworks

See all 51 artworks

[[PLACEHOLDER ARTWORK]]

The image displays a series of evenly spaced posts extending horizontally, creating vertical lines at the boundary between the sky and land. In the foreground, there are irregular shapes covering a sandy surface. The overall scene suggests a connection to a shoreline or a desert-like landscape with a distant barrier in the background.

100 Boots Facing the Sea. Del Mar, California. February 9, 1971, 2:00 p.m.

Eleanor Antin, Phel Steinmetz, Frye & Smith, Ltd.

1971

The image shows a quiet suburban street with a large church on the right. The church has tall windows along a white rectangular structure topped with a dark steeple. Black boots line the sidewalk leading to the church. A palm tree appears on the left, with smaller homes in the background. A streetlight and power lines are visible overhead.

100 Boots on the Way to Church. Solana Beach, California, February 9, 1971, 11:30 a.m.

Eleanor Antin, Phel Steinmetz, Frye & Smith, Ltd.

1971

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Eleanor Antin, San Diego, CA; Larry McGilvery, La Jolla, CA; Danny and Mary Solomon, Monarch Beach, CA; (Joseph Bellows Gallery, La Jolla, CA); NGA purchase, 2015.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2025

  • The '70s Lens: Reimagining Documentary Photography: National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, October 6, 2024–April 6, 2025

Inscriptions

upper left stamped in black ink: 12; on verso, top left printed in black ink: 201 Pacific Ave., Solana Beach, California 92075; top center circular postmark stamped in black ink: U.S. POSTAL SERVICE. CA 920 4A / PM / 11 SEP / 1972; top right eight-cent stamp: 8c / EISENHOWER. USA; top right rectangular postmark stamped in black ink: ALWAYS USE / ZIP CODE; upper right printed in black ink: POST CARD / ADDRESS; center printed in black ink perpendicular: FRYE & SMITH, LTD., SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA; center right printed in black ink on applied label: Laurence McGilvery / P.O. Box 852 / La Jolla, Calif. 92037; bottom left printed in black ink: Eleanor Antin / 100 BOOTS ON THE JOB / Signal Hill, California / Feb. 15, 1972 12:15 P.M. / (Photo: Philip Steinmetz); by unknown hand, bottom left in graphite: No.21

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