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Mirror of Long Ago

Artist Clarence John Laughlin (American, 1905 - 1985)
Date1946; printed 1981
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsOverall: 13 1/2 x 10 3/4 inches (34.29 x 27.31 cm)
Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Object number2005.27.1662
On View
Not on view
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DescriptionGelatin silver print of a mirror, with the ghostly image of a woman reflected in it.Gallery Label
Informed by a romantic Southern sensibility and a personal symbolic vocabulary, the photographs of Clarence John Laughlin represent a complex meditation on memory, death and desire. In this image, Laughlin employs double exposures and mirror reflections to conflate image and imagination, suggesting opulence, loss and the passing of time.
Copyright© The Historic New Orleans Collection
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.


The Secret of the House
Clarence John Laughlin
1953
2005.27.1710
The Haunting Gaze (Gloria Simon, Poem of Imprinted Lace #5)
Clarence John Laughlin
November 16, 1941; printed 1961
2005.27.1723
Nostalgic Head #2
Clarence John Laughlin
April 19, 1941; printed 1973
2005.27.1737
(Untitled)
Clarence John Laughlin
1937
2005.27.1762
The Enigma of Transition
Clarence John Laughlin
1941
2005.27.1711
The House of the Lost( The Melieu of Loss)
Clarence John Laughlin
1940; printed 1981
2005.27.1672
Farewell to the Past
Clarence John Laughlin
1941
2005.27.1666
Woman Attacked by a Cloud (Descent of a Cloud)
Clarence John Laughlin
1941; printed 1981
2005.27.1683
Through a Door in the Slums (The Lost Child)
Clarence John Laughlin
February 12, 1939; printed 1958
2005.27.1734
Mother Brown
Clarence John Laughlin
1945
2005.27.1706
The Ego-Centrics ("The Persistence of Egocentricity. No. 1")
Clarence John Laughlin
1940; printed 1980
2005.27.1712
Dweller in the Ruins #1(Dora Harrison near Diamond St.)
Clarence John Laughlin
1940
2005.27.1721