Christine Roussel Lunch on a Beam reviews and information of the content of the book about The Making of an American Photograph. Brandeiss University Press will publish the book by Christine Roussel of untold story of the many people behind one of America’s most iconic photographs, on April 30, 2026. Here you can read information about the content of the book, the author and the publication.
Christine Roussel Lunch on a Beam reviews and information
Whenever a review of Lunch on a Beam, The Making of an American Photograph, written by Christine Roussel, appears in the media, we’ll highlight it on this page.
- “Drawing on deep historical knowledge, with unparalleled access to archival documents and photographs, Roussel has shed new light not just on a world-famous photo but on a fascinating era and cast of characters.” (William Bartlett)
- “Roussel has written a serious insider’s account of Rockefeller Center that is also a delight to read. Although she worked directly with Nelson Rockefeller, she emphasizes the construction workers, casually lunching–even napping–on a beam high above the sidewalk, risking death to build the city’s trademark skyscrapers.” (Carol Krinsky, author of Rockefeller Center)
Lunch on a Beam
The Making of an American Photograph
- Author: Christine Roussel (United States)
- Book type: book on the story of the photograph
- Publisher: Brandeiss University Press
- To be released: April 30, 2026
- Length: 222 pages
- Size: 22 x 18 cm
- Format: hardcover / ebook
- Prize: $ 35.00
- Buying options >
Blurb of the book on one of Ameriça’s most iconic photographs
The untold story of the many people behind one of America’s most iconic photographs.
Lunch on a Beam, also known as Lunch Atop a Skyscraper, shows ironworkers eating lunch on a steel beam during the construction of Rockefeller Center’s RCA Building in 1932. It’s a photo so famous you can likely picture it in your mind: seated in a row, eleven men chat and break bread 850 feet above the ground, the dense cityscape behind them. While the scene may look spontaneous, the photo was taken during a publicity shoot to promote Rockefeller Center’s new skyscraper. And despite the image’s renown, for years little information was available about its subjects or its photographer.
In Lunch on a Beam, Rockefeller Center archivist Christine Roussel interweaves the art, architectural, and social history behind the photograph with her personal experience as a confidante to the financiers who developed Rockefeller Center. She tells the stories of the fearless photographers, brazen publicity men, the ironworkers, and their immigrant and Indigenous communities. This portrait of eleven construction workers, she points out, is also a celebration of the nation’s richest man. She examines how, in the depths of the Great Depression, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. took it upon himself to build a monument to American industry and sell it to the public.
Featuring striking images from the Rockefeller Center Archives, Lunch on a Beam calls attention to the fascinating paradoxes contained in a single photo and celebrates the men who built an architectural marvel at great personal risk. This is a story of art and commerce, and the role of a photograph in the mythmaking of New York City.
Christine Roussel is the Archivist of the Rockefeller Center Archive. For many years, she worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as director of the reproductions studio and special assistant to the director. Upon leaving the museum, she advised Vice President Nelson Rockefeller on his art collection and founded the monument restoration company C. Roussel Inc. Her books include The Art of Rockefeller Center and A Guide to The Art of Rockefeller Center. She lives in New York City.