I Saw the Figure Five in Gold

I Saw the Figure Five in Gold by Charles Demuth is a painting representing a fire truck. It references a William Carlos Williams poem about a Fire Engine speeding through the streets of a city. The painting is one of a series of eight abstract portraits of friends that Demuth made between 1924 and 1929, which were exhibited at Alfred Stieglitz's gallery 291

This is the poem that inspired this painting:

Among the rain

and lights

I saw the figure 5

in gold

on a red

firetruck

moving

tense

unheeded

to gong clangs

siren howls

and wheels rumbling

through the dark city.

Here is some more about Charles Demuth:

http://www.demuth.org/index.php?pID=9

Here is more about the author of the poem:

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/119

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Saw_the_Figure_5_in_Gold

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/49.59.1