Sawmill at Greensboro Lumber Co., Greensboro, GA, 1941/1985 is a dye transfer print by Ukrainian born photographer Jack Delano. It measures seven inches tall by ten inches wide and is viewed in landscape orientation, meaning its longest side is parallel to the ground. The image presents an industrial lumber processing facility set within a landscape of burned trees and cleared ground. In the center of the composition, the charred skeletal remains of trees rise from the debris-strewn earth, their blackened trunks and bare branches creating stark vertical elements against the cloudy sky. To the left, a tall smokestack stands among the burned timber, while on the right side of the frame, a substantial brick smokestack emits a thick plume of dark smoke that streams horizontally across the upper portion of the image. The foreground is scattered with lumber, industrial debris, and the remnants of the forest clearing, while additional burned trees punctuate the middle ground throughout the scene. In the background, the sawmill’s industrial infrastructure is visible, including a series of wooden framework structures with diagonal cross-bracing that creates triangular patterns, and processing machinery with geometric metal supports forming repetitive angular configurations. The subdued color palette and the photograph’s characteristic rounded corners typical of the era enhance the documentary quality of this scene
Jack Delano
Jack Delano — b. 1914, Kiev, Ukraine; d. 1997, San Juan, Puerto Rico Artist Page