Steeling Cincinnati by Robert Coomer is an exciting artistic look at Cincinnati’s past. It is an original interpretation of the 1848 Cincinnati daguerreotype panorama by Charles Fontayne and William S. Porter. After almost 170 years it has been printed on distressed steel to capture the look, feel, and emotion of the original plates. This Cincinnati original is available to own direct from the artist Robert Coomer or through Row House Gallery.

“I create beauty with power tools and a camera,” comments Coomer. “Each of my industrial fine art plates combines photography with the effects of time and decay. It takes 2 to 3 months to age and rust each piece of steel; and another 8 to 12 hours to prepare each panel by sanding to remove the active rust and reveal the pitted marks of time. Once the steel is ready, I use various methods to print the image onto the surface. This process makes each piece unique. The panels are then sealed and float-mounted to wood using distressed bolts to maintain the aged and worn appearance.”

The goal is to build a “believable artifact” that feels like it is over 100 years old and feels true to the subject matter, as though he stepped back in time and took a piece with him, and used it to create this art. For more information, contact Robert Coomer at the form below.