Object number1987.53.76

Roman Vishniac's Eyes

Date1958

Artist Rosalie Thorne McKenna (American, 1918-2003)

CultureAmerican

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsImage: 4 9/16 x 9 1/4 in. (11.6 x 23.5 cm)
Sheet: 8 x 9 15/16 in. (20.3 x 25.2 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)

Photograph

InscribedOn verso, by artist, center in ink: RV XIX 5; possibly by artist, center in pencil: Roman Vishniac's Eyes 1958; by unidentified hand, lower right corner in pencil: 87.53.76

MarkingsOn verso, partially obscured stamp upper center: PHOTO BY: ROLLIE McKENNA / [copyright credit label] / Please Credit With Photo; ASMP MEMBER / AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MAGAZINE PHOTOGRAPHERS On printed label, on verso center: © Rollie McKenna / 1 Hancox Street / Stonington, CT 06378 / (203) 535-0110/2126

ProvenanceGift of the artist

Vassar Exhibitions

Making a Life in Photography: Rollie McKenna (Loeb)

Label TextIn 1958, McKenna photographed Russian American photographer Roman Vishniac with her Graflex camera. Vishniac came to the United States disguised as a Bolshevik soldier in order to seek asylum from political and racial oppression during World War II. He was known for photographing European Jewish life before the Holocaust. When he immigrated to the U.S. he became a photo-microbiologist, using color photography and an Arriflex camera for scientific research. McKenna photographed Vishniac in the naturalistic setting of Central Park as well as in Woods Hole, Massachusetts near his home, both places where he conducted field research. Observing him at work, she recognized his fascination with and respect for the natural world, which she shared. While editing her pictures of Vishniac, McKenna marked up her contact sheets with several notes to tightly crop the images to show only his eyes. Likely feeling an affinity with Vishniac and his attention to his subjects, McKenna focused on his eyes as a powerful tool for the keen observational skills he displayed in his own work.

DescriptionDetail of person’s dark eyes and eyebrows with partial brow and upper part of nose visible; strong light from the left

Terms

male

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