Martha Graham--Ekstasis (Torso)

Artist Barbara Morgan (American, 1900 - 1992)

Date1935; printed later

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsOverall: 13 1/4 x 10 1/4 inches (33.66 x 26.04 cm)

Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Object number2005.27.2810

InscribedSignature Signed in artist's hand Front of Mount Artist's Stamp see description Back of Mount Description: "Copyright Photograph; Barbara Morgan, 120 High Point Road, Scarsdale, New York, 10583. When used in any media, credit must be given; Photograph by Barbara Morgan. No arbitrary cropping may be done." Notations "Archivally printed 1979. B.B.M." Back of Mount In pen

On View

Not on view

Collections

Photography

Terms

DescriptionImage of a woman (Martha Graham) shown from the torso down in a form fitting knit dress against a white backdrop.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Masters of 20th-Century Photography from the Hallmark Collection. Waterloo Municipal Galleries, Waterloo, IA, May 2 -June 13, 1982, no cat.

New Acquisitions to the Hallmark Photographic Collection, 1980-1983. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, April 1 – May 1, 1983.

20th-Century Works from the Hallmark Photographic Collection. Cottey College, Nevada, MO, January 9-27, 1984, no cat.

Selections from the Hallmark Photographic Collection. Highland Community College, Highland, KS, October 19 - November 11, 1993, no cat.

Twentieth-Century Photographers: Selections from the HPC. Columbus College of Art & Design, Columbus, OH, March 28 - April 27, 1996, no cat.

Rotation 8. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, May 12 – October 11, 2010.

Gallery Label

Barbara Morgan was born in Buffalo, Kansas, but grew up in California. She majored in art at U.C.L.A. and went on to teach there for several years. Her interest in photography was spurred by her marriage to photographer Willard Morgan and her friendship with Edward Weston. After moving to New York City, she took up the camera as her primary artistic tool in about 1935. Inspired by the modernist energies of the time, Morgan explored various aspects of abstraction, including multiple exposures and photomontage. She was also deeply fascinated by modern dance. In the late 1930s, she created an influential body of work on the dancer and choreographer Martha Graham-capturing in still pictures something of the drama and energy of her performances.

Provenance

Baker Gallery, Kansas City, MO;
Purchased from Baker Gallery by Hallmark Cards, Inc., Kansas City, MO, 1981;
Given by Hallmark Cards, Inc. to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2005.

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