Blind woman, New York

Artist Paul Strand (American, 1890 - 1976)

Date1916

MediumPhotogravure

DimensionsImage: 8 13/16 × 6 9/16 inches (22.38 × 16.67 cm)
Sheet: 11 11/16 × 8 1/8 inches (29.69 × 20.64 cm)

Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Object number2005.27.2221

Signednone

Inscribednone

MarkingsOn sheet verso, bottom, in pencil: "17-1-72"

On View

Not on view

Collections

Photography

Terms

DescriptionImage of a woman with a black scarf wrapped around her hair; she is wearing a sign with the word "Blind" printed on it in bold letters.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

20th-Century Photographs from the Hallmark Photographic Collection. Sioux City Art Center, Sioux City, IA, January 10 -February 22, 1981, no cat.

Faces: an Exhibition from the Hallmark Photographic Collection. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, September 16 - October 21, 1984, no. 43.

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

World War I and the Rise of Modernism. The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO. January 9 – October 18, 2015, no cat.

Surveillance. The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO. September 16, 2016 – January 29, 2017, Wichita Art Museum, November 11, 2017-March 4, 2018, no cat.

Gallery Label

In 1916 Paul Strand began to pursue a more descriptive, documentary mode of photography. Turning his attention to the poor and elderly living on the streets of New York City, Strand wanted to photograph his subjects’ faces, which expressed the strain of living in such a harsh environment. Believing that the truth of their circumstances could only be conveyed if his subjects did not know they were being photographed, Strand devised a trick camera with a false lens to photograph people like this blind newspaper seller.

Provenance

EG Gallery, Kansas City, MO;
Purchased from EG Gallery by Hallmark Cards Inc., Kansas City, MO, 1972; [1]
Given by Hallmark Cards, Inc. to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2005.

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.