Heinz History Center to host book launch for ‘Fire in the Night Sky’
The Senator John Heinz History Center will host the official book launch for “Fire in the Night Sky: The Steel Mill Paintings of Aaron Gorson” by Maxwell King, on Sept. 22 at 6 p.m.
Born in Lithuania, Gorson came to Philadelphia in 1890 at 18 and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts before continuing his studies in Paris. He later settled in Pittsburgh, where he painted powerful and dramatic nighttime scenes of the city’s steel mills until the early 1920s.
Featuring 39 Gorson paintings, “Fire in the Night Sky” places his art within the larger story of Pittsburgh’s steel industry, revealing how the industrial and technological achievements of the era transformed Pittsburgh and the world. It is the first complete biography of the man who captured Pittsburgh’s fiery steel mills on paper.
King will be joined by History Center president and CEO Andy Masich, who will preview the museum’s upcoming exhibition on the life and artwork of Gorson, opening Nov. 14.
Following the program, King will sign copies of “Fire in the Night Sky.” Books will be available for purchase at the event.
For more information, go online to heinzhistorycenter.org/events.