Working on this medieval Pittsburgh show, I wanted to represent the myths of Pittsburgh that function in how we talk/think about our city. I think that for many of us, the story of Pittsburgh really starts with Carnegie. There’s an idea about fort duquesne and pre- industrial Pittsburgh, but that’s about as foggy as Roman Britain and Boudica and the Celts. Our iconography and self mytholigizing really takes off with steel.

Carnegie’s mark on Pittsburgh is indelible. The universities, the Steelers, the foundations, the buildings- Pittsburgh exists as a living memory of this man. For better or worse, Carnegie is more important than any political figure who has ever existed in Pittsburgh. He has more magnitude than any artist or sports figure. He was effectively king, and now he exists as functionally as founder.

I depicted him as Henry II of England (which, is a little dicey given that Carnegie was Scottish). Henry the II was violent and effective and really locked in his legacy and progeny. The motif in the background is an update of stuff I saw in the artwork from the 12th century (been a minute- might have been a different century. Been crate digging in Medieval art and I’m losing track).

I’m hoping to do several of these kinds of portraits to bring out the subtext of how we mythologize and think about our local history. Hope you enjoy it.