East 100th Street

Artist Bruce Davidson (American, born 1933)

Date1966-1968

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsImage: 8 3/16 × 11 1/8 inches (20.8 × 28.27 cm)
Sheet: 11 × 13 15/16 inches (27.94 × 35.38 cm)

Credit LineGift of Bill and Peggy Lyons

Object number2015.17.3

SignedSigned on sheet verso, center, in pencil: "Bruce Davidson"

Inscribednone

MarkingsOn sheet verso, bottom, in pencil: "PF105994"' On sheet verso, lower right corner, in pencil: "699"

On View

Not on view

Collections

Photography

Terms

DescriptionImage of African American woman smiling while seated on a couch covered with clear plastic. Another African American woman is seated behind her with hand resting on her shoulder. In the room there is a window with sheer curtains, a framed portrait of a dog, and a floor lamp beside them.Gallery Label

Gallery Label

This poignant portrait of two women, illuminated by the soft light streaming through their apartment window, is part of the series East 100th Street. This body of work, made between 1966 and 1968, was a self-assigned project by Bruce Davidson, created within a single city block in East Harlem. As he returned to the neighborhood, Davidson got to know individuals and asked their permission to photograph them. Davidson’s subjects often invited him into their homes after he earned their trust. Portraits such as this one emerged from this atmosphere of mutual respect.

Provenance

Peggy and WIlliam Lyons, Mission Hills, KS;
Given by Peggy and William Lyons to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2015.

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