Photographs of Mexico

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Photographs of Mexico

Artist Paul Strand (American, 1890-1976)

Date1940

DimensionsH: 10 1/4 in. (26 cm); W: 8 1/4 in. (21 cm) (Dealer)

MediumPhotogravure.

ClassificationPhotographs

Credit LineWinthrop H. Perry Fund

Object number

2005.34Q

Not on View

DescriptionPhotogravures printed under the supervision of Strand.

Label TextPaul Strand visited Mexico in 1932. During his trip he photographed the natural landscape realizing that the land both formed and reflected the culture of the people who inhabited it, “long lived on and over by humans,” as he wrote. However, in the portfolio Photographs of Mexico, from which these two images are taken, Strand did not limit his artistic vision to the land only. He photographed the Native Mexicans on the streets in candid shots achieved using a camera equipped with a prism allowing him to stand a right angles to his subjects. The human subjects were unaware that their photograph was being taken. In this way he achieved a sense of solemnity and monumentality not found in his earlier work.Exhibition HistoryTMA New Works on Paper Dec. 2005 - Mar. 5, 2006Comparative ReferencesSee also Paul Strand, National Gallery of Art, Aperature