Henry Peach Robinson, "Dawn and Dusk" (1885), Cleveland Museum of Art
So I’ve just viewed the new exhibit at the Taft and have one thing to say: I am ready to admit that photography is an art form on par with painting and sculpture (possibly). I am only ready to say this under the condition that said photograph is done following the precepts of pictorialism, a school of art in the late 19th C. which claimed that in order to achieve artistic viability, photography had to begin following the form and style of traditional painting. As this exhibit, TruthBeaity: Pictorialism & Photograph, 1845-1945, makes clear, this new art form worked from its very beginnings to prove the legitimacy of its expression.
Curated and collected by the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, highlights of the exhibit are photographs by Alvin Langdon Coburn, F. Holland Day, Robert Demachy, Frederick Evans, Gertrude Käsebier, Heinrich Kühn, Edward Steichen, and Alfred Stieglitz. My favorite was the above photo by Henry Peach Robinson. A great exhibit which I can’t wait to see again.
Frank Duveneck, "Elizabeth Boott Duveneck" (1888), Cincinnati Art Museum
However, the biggest surpise came in the form, again, of an unexpected Duveneck. In my last post, I had mentioned that the Taft had lent their Duveneck painting to the Cincinnati Art Museum for an exhibit. Well, as a nice little quid pro quod the CAM has lent the Taft Duveneck’s portrait of his wife, Elizabeth Boott Duveneck. I have only seen this painting on display once at the CAM years ago. This is a beautiful painting which documents a tragic part of Duveneck’s life. Their life together ended too early when Elizabeth died in 1888 after only a few months of marriage. This portrait was in fact her wedding portrait. A great essay by Carol Osborne about their relationship can be read here.
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