A Foundry: Hot Metal has been Poured into a Mould and Inflammable Gas is Rising
- Artist: Graham Sutherland OM
- Date: 1941–2
- Medium: Crayon and gouache on paper
- Dimensions: support: 918 x 1092 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is “A Foundry: Hot Metal has been Poured into a Mould and Inflammable Gas is Rising” by Graham Sutherland OM. Created in 1941–2 while he was an Official War Artist, it shows the Guest, Keen and Baldwin steelworks in Cardiff as hot metal sloshes into a mould, fire‑lit vapour rising above the furnace. The composition places a few workers in the background, adding a human touch to the industrial tableau.
The work is executed with crayon, gouache and watercolour on paper mounted on board. Sutherland built it in layers: a grey wash as ground, bright yellow of flames from dry gouache, wax crayon for highlights and ink for fine details. The result is a textured surface that gives the flames a dramatic lift.
Sutherland once described the steelworks as “cathedrals” of engineering; this painting turns the foundry into a quasi‑religious scene, with its elegant fires and the small figures performing their own ritual. It reflects both the scale of wartime production and the artist’s fascination with the primal energy of heavy industry.
See it in person
A Foundry: Hot Metal has been Poured into a Mould and Inflammable Gas is Rising is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
