Object number1987.53.50
James Merrill, Close-up
Date1961
Artist
Rosalie Thorne McKenna
(American, 1918-2003)
CultureAmerican
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 9 5/8 x 7 1/2 in. (24.45 x 19.05 cm)
Credit LineGift of the artist
On View
Not on viewPeriod20th c
Classification(s)
InscribedOn reverse of mount, by artist, center in ink: JAMES MERRILL / 1961 / #; by unidentified hand, lower right corner in pencil: 87.53.50
MarkingsOn recto, a thin horizontal line near the lower edge in red ink
On reverse of mount, stamped center: Photo By: / ROLLIE MCKENNA / ONE HANCOX STREET / STONINGTON, CONN. / AREA CODE 203 533-0110/2126 / Not To Be Reproduced / Without Permission / Please Credit With Photo
On printed label, on reverse of mount lower center: © 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.”
DescriptionFlush-mounted to grey cardboard, hinged to backing mat on the reverse of the mount. Close-up portrait of man with dark hair and eyes, freckles and wrinkled brow, wearing white open shirt and looking at photographer Terms
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Rosalie Thorne McKenna
1961
Culture: American
