Victorian Venus

Artist Clarence John Laughlin (American, 1905 - 1985)

Date1954

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsImage and sheet: 13 3/8 × 7 13/16 inches (33.97 × 19.84 cm)
Mount: 17 × 14 inches (43.18 × 35.56 cm)

Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Object number2005.27.1690

SignedOn mount verso, lower right, black stamp: "Photograph by Clarence John Laughlin / © The Historic New Orleans Collection"

InscribedOn mount verso, bottom, in pencil and black pen: ""Victorian Venus" (with an "Egg of Light"" / [?].

MarkingsOn mount verso, upper left, in pencil: "CJL #184E-1114 / RMN #L8710.123-C"; On mount verso, lower right, in pencil: "#8984 / B [?] #423 / 9/28/54 / #1 [circled]"; On mount verso, lower right, in black pen: "L [circled] 4/99".

On View

Not on view

Collections

Photography

Terms

DescriptionStatue (Venus) in crouched position, in front of window, shadow cast over statue.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Rotation 22. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, August 10, 2016- January 8, 2017, no cat.

Gallery Label

A lifelong resident of New Orleans, Clarence John Laughlin crafted photographs that were informed by a romantic Southern sensibility and a personal symbolic vocabulary. Many of his photographs, such as this image of a Venus statue rendered in shadow, represent a complex meditation on memory, death and desire.

Provenance

Hallmark Cards, Inc., Kansas City, MO, 1988;
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.