Beschreibung:

THE FACE OF MODERNISM: A PRIVATE WEST COAST COLLECTION Dorothea Lange Water Boy, Mississippi Delta 1938 Gelatin silver print, printed 1960s, flush-mounted. 10 3/8 x 9 7/8 in. (26.4 x 25.1 cm)
Provenance From the artist; to the Museum of Modern Art, New York Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York Lee Gallery, Winchester Private Collection, New York Exhibited Dorothea Lange Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1966, this print exhibited either at MoMA or as part of the traveling exhibition Literature Aperture, Dorothea Lange Photographs of a Lifetime, p. 90 Partridge, Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange p. 79 San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Dorothea Lange American Photographs, pl. 61 for all, a variant cropping Catalogue Essay As with the work of Ben Shahn (lots 17, 18), Dorothea Lange also had a strong empathy for those living under marginalized conditions. It is thus befitting that in 1934, following a tenure as a studio portrait photographer, Lange turned her lens to the streets and to the fields. By documenting the displaced and underprivileged, such as Water Boy, Mississippi Delta, 1938, Lange was an important force in lending a face to the sweeping Depression. Furthermore, by highlighting the dire conditions of the African-American community decades before the battle to end segregation reached its climax, Lange’s image reveals her foresight and compassion for the often-overlooked community. Dorothea Lange and her darkroom assistant made two sets of prints for the Dorothea Lange retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in 1966: one to stay at MoMA and the other for the traveling exhibition. In 2002, MoMA deaccessioned the print being offered in the current lot. It remains unknown whether this print was exhibited at the museum or was the one intended for the traveling exhibition. Read More