Skip to main content

Ship Deck

Artist William E. Dassonville (American, 1879 - 1957)
Dateca.1925
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 7 7/16 × 9 15/16 inches (18.89 × 25.24 cm)
Sheet: 9 15/16 × 11 15/16 inches (25.24 × 30.32 cm)
Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Object number2005.27.3971
SignedEstate stamp on sheet verso, lower left corner, in blue ink: "Estate of / William E. Dassonville"
Inscribednone
MarkingsOn sheet recto, lower left corner, in black pen: "354"; On sheet verso, bottom, in pencil: "4216", "567-2-97".
On View
Not on view
Collections
DescriptionImage of a ship deck with metal cables stretching across; overlooking body of water with boats passing in the fog-covered background.Exhibition History
Rotation 25. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, October 19, 2018- March 17, 2019, no cat.
Gallery Label

The spare, sleek forms of a ship’s deck appear in soft focus in this image, printed on a warm white photographic paper. Based in San Francisco, William Dassonville turned his attention away from the natural landscape in the 1920s, choosing instead to focus on the modern, manmade structures of the city’s waterfront.

Highly attuned to the texture and tonalities of photographic prints, Dassonville also made and marketed his own gelatin silver paper. Many photographers gravitated to the warm tonality and unique surface textures of Dassonville’s papers, including Ansel Adams in his early years.

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.


recto overall
Robert Howlett
November 2, 1857
2015.50.26
San Francisco
William E. Dassonville
ca. 1925
2005.27.2611
Workers in Front of Ship
Beat Presser
1984
2005.38.2.18
Front of Ship
Beat Presser
1984
2005.38.2.17
Harbor at Saint Malo, France
Germaine Krull
1926
2015.67.33
Boats stranded by low tide
Unknown
ca. 1855
2015.67.66
Herzog with Cameramen on Deck
Beat Presser
1978-1982
F94-47/44
The Drawbridge
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
ca. 1835-1839
R93-2/1
View from Russian Hill [3]
Carleton E. Watkins
ca. 1870
2005.27.3709