Nude abstraction
Artist
W. Grancel Fitz
(American, 1894 - 1963)
Date1938
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage and sheet: 11 7/8 × 8 7/8 inches (30.16 × 22.54 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Hall Family Foundation
Object number2020.7.23
SignedOn sheet verso, center, stamped in black ink: "GRANCEL FITZ"
Inscribednone
Markingsnone
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionImage of a nude female figure (arms, torso, and legs) kneeling in profile. Harsh light shines from the lower leaving dark shadows one side of the body.Gallery LabelThis photograph of a female nude, printed from multiple negatives, presents the body as a dynamic interplay of abstract forms. Using controlled lighting, W. Grancel Fitz positioned crisp slivers of light and volumes of shadow to create visual drama and lyrical movement.
Fitz earned recognition as a pictorialist photographer in the 1910s, participating in an artistic movement that emphasized the aesthetic qualities of photography over its documentary function. Fitz turned to commercial photography in the 1930s, primarily working in advertising. The nude images he created from this period were likely a personal, artistic pursuit.
Hall Family Foundation, Kansas City, MO, 2020;
Given by the Hall Family Foundation to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2020.
Given by the Hall Family Foundation to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2020.
Copyright© Estate of Grancel Fitz
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