Egg tempera, 2009

Dimensions: 36” x 24”

These days when a coal company sets up its operation they pull a small trailer on site to use as their office. But when the coal towns were being established around the turn of the 20th century things were built to last. The companies brought stone masons from Italy to construct many of the bridges, retaining walls and commercial buildings that formed the infra-structure of the towns. Many of those stone structures can still be seen today, like this one in Whitesburg, Kentucky, reminiscent of the Italian builders’ hometowns.