Object number1987.53.51
James Merrill, Stonington, Connecticut, Sits at Chair, Looks to His Right
Date1961
Artist
Rosalie Thorne McKenna
(American, 1918-2003)
CultureAmerican
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 6 11/16 x 9 13/16 in. (17 x 25 cm)
Sheet: 7 7/8 x 9 13/16 in. (20 x 25 cm)
Matted: 22 x 16 in. (55.9 x 40.6 cm)
Sheet: 7 7/8 x 9 13/16 in. (20 x 25 cm)
Matted: 22 x 16 in. (55.9 x 40.6 cm)
Credit LineGift of the artist
On View
Not on viewPeriod20th c
Classification(s)
InscribedOn verso, by artist, upper right in pencil [written vertically]: James Merrill, 1961; center in pencil [written vertically]: STONINGTON CT; on verso, possibly by artist, center in pencil [written vertically]: JM5.3061 / A 31; on verso, by unidentified hand; lower right corner in pencil: 87.53.51
MarkingsOn verso, partially obscured stamp center right: Photo By: / ROLLIE McKENNA / [copyright credit label] / Please Credit With Photo
On printed label, on verso center right: © Rollie McKenna / 1 Hancox Street / Stonington, CT 06378 / (203) 535-0110/2126
BibliographyVariant: John Malcolm Brinnin and Bill Read, The Modern Poets, An American-British Anthology (McGraw-Hill, 1963), 228. ProvenanceGift of the artistVassar Exhibitions
Label TextIn 1950, McKenna met American poet John Malcolm Brinnin. He introduced the young photographer to many modernist poets, and their friendship spanned most of McKenna’s life. When they met, Brinnin served as director of the YM-YWHA Poetry Center, New York (today part of 92NY), where he organized McKenna’s first solo exhibition in 1951, featuring portraits of writers. Portrait photography would soon become McKenna’s bread and butter, introducing her to the literary world and establishing her decades-long career as a freelance photographer. She became known for portraits that defied convention and sought to capture real, human qualities. She scrapped the studio altogether and instead photographed people where they were most comfortable. Her portraits of writers picture them at their desks, often at home and sometimes mid-conversation, having a cigarette, or even sitting casually on the floor. Unlike traditional studio portraits, which to McKenna looked stiff, contrived, and lifeless, her pictures achieved an expressive candidness. “My objection to posed studio photographs,” she said, “is that they tend to have the stamp of the studio or the photographer, and not necessarily of the person.”
DescriptionSeated young man in white shirt looking to his right toward light with his left arm on back of second chairTerms
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Rosalie Thorne McKenna
c. 1970
Culture: American
