Flood at the Power Dam, Broad Edge Creek, Pennsylvania

DateProbably 1955

Artist Victor Joseph Gatto (1893-1965)

OriginAmerica, New York, New York City (probably)

MediumOil on plyboard

DimensionsUnframed: 11 1/2 x 35in. (29.2 x 88.9cm) and Framed: 12 3/4 x 36 5/16in.

Credit LineGift of Sterling Strauser

Object number1971.102.1

DescriptionA horizontal format riverscape showing a raging flood, with torn, uplifted railroad tracks in the foreground, the brown water racing from right to left and bending, at far left, into the distance through a mountain pass. The tops of the mountains in the background extend beyond the upper edge of the picture.
The 3/4-inch flat, black-painted frame may be original to the picture.Label TextVictor Gatto began to paint in the early 1940s when advised that his job as a steamfitter was too physically demanding. He spent summers in various furnished rooms in lower Manhattan, where he was born, dedicating himself to painting. In the winter, Gatto traveled from city to city as far south as Miami, taking odd jobs as a dishwasher or carpenter's assistant.

This painting shows an event that the artist probably did not witness. However, like the sinking of the TITANIC, which Gatto also painted, it affected him deeply. Gatto told the former owner of the painting that the"T" in the lower left corner stood for "Tragedy."Inscription(s)Painted in the lower left corner is "Victor Joseph Gatto/Aug. 1955--T."ProvenanceSterling Strauser