Martha Graham, Letter to the World
Mount: 20 7/8 × 25 15/16 inches (53.02 × 65.88 cm)
New Acquisitions to the Hallmark Photographic Collection, 1980-1983. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, April 1 – May 1, 1983.
Faces: an Exhibition from the Hallmark Photographic Collection. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 16 September -21 October 1984, no. 55.
Twentieth-Century Photographers: Selections from the HPC. Columbus College of Art & Design, Columbus, OH, 28 March-27 April 1996, no cat.
In the Public Eye: Photography and Fame. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 8 March-15 June 2008, no cat.
Rotation 21. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, March 12 – July 31, 2010, no cat.
This image depicts "The Kick," a culminating move from the modern ballet Letter to the World. Choreographed by acclaimed modern dancer and choreographer Martha Graham (1894–1991), the dance was based on the life of poet Emily Dickinson and premiered in 1940.
In 1936, Barbara Morgan began a collaborative series with Graham. Their mutual goal was to make photographs that summarized or evoked the spirit of a performance.
Purchased from Edwynn Houk Gallery by Hallmark Cards, Inc., Kansas City, MO, 1980;
Given by Hallmark Cards, Inc. to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2005.
