The Unmade Bed

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The Unmade Bed

Artist Imogen Cunningham (American, 1883-1976)

Date1957

DimensionsImage: 10 5/8 x 13 11/16 in. (27 x 34.7 cm)

MediumGelatin silver print

ClassificationPhotographs

Credit LinePurchased with funds given by an anonymous donor

Object number

1976.136

Not on View

Label TextImogen Cunningham Experimental and fearless, Imogen Cunningham produced challenging photographic images for over 70 years. She is one of the first women to make her living as a photographer and one of the few to exhibit internationally during the first three decades of the 20th century. Cunningham began making images in 1901. From 1907 to 1909 she worked with Edward S. Curtis, famous for his seminal work The North American Indian, a multi volume set of over 2,000 images documenting the lives, customs, and appearance of Native Americans. Through Curtis, Cunningham learned an appreciation for Pictorialism (purposefully composed, often soft-focused compositions meant to emulate fine art). She practiced this form of photography, making allegorical portraits and nude studies, until about 1922. From 1922 until 1929, the requirements of raising a family restricted Cunningham’s image making. She began making photographs of plants that grew close to her home in Seattle. These strongly composed geometric studies are widely considered to be classics today. Through her detailed plant studies, Cunningham developed an appreciation for ‘straight’ photography. She joined with her friends Edward Weston and Ansel Adams to form Group f.64. This association of mainly West Coast photographers rejected Pictorialism in favor of sharply focused, un-manipulated images. By the 1960s, Cunningham had developed an interest in street photography. Searching for the unusual and sometimes radical, she made images of the beat generation and flower children of the San Francisco area. This image was inspired by Imogen Cunningham’s colleague, the famous documentary photographer Dorothea Lange (1895–1965). While visiting Lange’s photography class at the San Francisco Art Institute, Cunningham was intrigued by an assignment that Lange proposed to her students. Lange instructed her class to make photographs of their surroundings. Cunningham followed suit with this image of her bed after what appears was a restless night. The sharp detail presented in this photograph is an example of Cunningham’s work with the f.64 group. This image was inspired by Imogen Cunningham’s colleague, the famous documentary photographer Dorothea Lange (1895–1965). While visiting Lange’s photography class at the San Francisco Art Institute, Cunningham was intrigued by an assignment that Lange proposed to her students. Lange instructed her class to make photographs of their surroundings. Cunningham followed suit with this image of her bed after what appears was a restless night. The sharp detail presented in this photograph is an example of Cunningham’s work with the f.64 group.Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, Past and Present: Photographs from the Permanent Collection, Jan. 22-June 8, 1999.

Toledo Museum of Art, Persona/non Persona, Dec. 5 2005 - Feb. 26, 2006.

Toledo Museum of Art, Refraction/Reflection, April 20-September 2, 2012.

Toledo Museum of Art, Speaking Visual: Learning the Language of Art, Oct. 31, 2014-Jan. 25, 2015.