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Photo Credit: David Dietrich

Artist
Title

Portrait of Ruth Asawa

Date
1947
Medium & Support
Gelatin silver print on paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 5 1/2 x 3 1/4 in. , Image: 5 1/2 x 3 1/4 in.
Style
Art Photography
Object Type
Photographs
Credit Line
Black Mountain College Collection, gift of Michael Urbain and Catherine Urbain
Accession Number
2012.21.14.91
Copyright
In Copyright
© Estate of Hazel Larsen Archer
Description

Portrait of Ruth Asawa laughing

Label History

Archer was a student at Black Mountain College in the 1940s who later transitioned into teaching photography. She took a series of photographs of students and faculty who would later become cultural icons: artist Ray Johnson, dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham, and artist Ruth Asawa. This portrait of Asawa represents Archer’s style: close head shot, upper torso, a building as a contrasting backdrop. Archer’s carefully framed photography would influence the portraiture of later student photographers, including Jonathan Williams.

Exhibition Title: Asheville Art Museum: An Introduction to the Collection
Label Date: 2021
Type: Catalogue Entry
Written by: J. W. Bonner

Keywords

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