Waiting for survivors of the Andrea Doria Sinking

Artist W. Eugene Smith (American, 1918 - 1978)

Date1956

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsImage: 8 1/2 x 13 3/8 inches (21.59 x 33.97 cm)

Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Object number2005.27.4361

InscribedNotations "Misc/AD-S-D/R-8/24" Back of Mount In Pencil

On View

Not on view

Collections

Photography

Terms

DescriptionImage of a nun (looking apprehensive).Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Rotation 14. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, August 20, 2008 – January 15, 2009, no cat.

Rotation 23. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, January 18 – May 28, 2017, no cat.

Gallery Label

In W. Eugene Smith’s words, “The journalistic photographer can have no other than a personal approach, and it is impossible for him to be completely objective.” After creating some of Life magazine’s most memorable photo essays between 1947 and 1954, Smith continued with personal projects, including the aftermath of the sinking of the Italian ocean liner Andrea Doria off the coast of Nantucket. Smith waited with family members and relief workers for the rescue ships to reach New York harbor. There, he captured a symbol of the nation’s concern in the face of this young nun.

Provenance

Jill Quasha, New York, NY;
Purchased from Jill Quasha by Hallmark Cards Inc., Kansas City, MO, 1994;
Given by Hallmark Cards, Inc. to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2005.

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