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Dylan Thomas in His Study, Laugharne, Wales
Dylan Thomas in His Study, Laugharne, Wales
Object number1987.53.7

Dylan Thomas in His Study, Laugharne, Wales

Date1953
Artist (American, 1918-2003)
CultureAmerican
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 8 1/16 x 6 1/16 in. (20.5 x 15.4 cm)
Sheet: 9 1/4 x 7 in. (23.5 x 17.8 cm)
Matted: 22 x 16 in. (55.9 x 40.6 cm)
Credit LineGift of the artist
On View
Not on view
Period20th c
Classification(s)
InscribedOn verso, by artist, center in pencil: Dylan Thomas in his / Shade (study) 1952[crossed out] / Laugharne, Wales; 1953[in ink]; on verso, by artist, upper right in ink next to copyright credit stamp: 1953; on verso, by artist, lower right corner in ink: Dylan Thomas in his work shed / Laugharne, 1953; on verso, possibly by artist, upper center in pencil: 372-79; on verso, possibly by artist, upper right in pencil: Pl10020; on verso, by unidentified hand, lower left in ink: 80%[circled]; on verso, by unidentified hand, lower right in blue marker: DYLAN #3 / 4 2/6 x 9 1/4 / SOON AS POSSIBLE; on verso, by unidentified hand, lower left within N.Y.T. stamp in ink: 346; on verso, by unidentified hand, lower right corner in pencil: 87.53.7
MarkingsOn verso, stamped upper center: Photo By: / ROLLIE MCKENNA / ONE HANCOX STREET / STONINGTON, CONN. / AREA CODE 203 533-0110 / Not To Be Reproduced / Without Permission / Please Credit With Photo; on verso, stamped upper right: RETURN TO TIMES / DATE RESERVED / JAN14 1971 / IN PICTURE [illegible] / PHOTO LIBRARY; on verso, stamped center left: M FEB 9 71; on verso, stamped upper right: © Rollie Mc Kenna; on verso, partially stamped lower left: PUBLISHED IN N.Y.T. / RESORT JAN 17 '71
BibliographyVariant: Rollie McKenna, Portrait of Dylan, A Photographer's Memoir (Stemmer House, 1982), 99. ProvenanceGift of the artist
Vassar Exhibitions
Label TextMcKenna was intimately aware of photography’s power to preserve the legacy of a creative person: Her photographs of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas helped to launch McKenna’s own career as a sought-after portraitist, yet they also ultimately overshadowed McKenna’s own authorship as a photographer. Her pictures of Thomas from 1952 and 1953 were among precious few images of the elusive writer, helping to preserve his legacy and memory despite an untimely death. Several of these pictures have been reproduced countless times in books and periodicals, not always giving credit to McKenna. The photographs she made while visiting Thomas and his family in Wales reveal her interest not in showing Thomas as a genius toiling away in seclusion, but rather as a man whose work as a writer was intertwined with his identity as a father, husband, and friend. McKenna’s friendship with Caitlin Thomas and their children continued after the writer’s death, resulting in a second visit to Wales in 1957.
DescriptionView through open door of small building where profile of sitting man can be seen with open window to his left side

Terms
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu