Object number1983.48
Couple on the subway
Date1980
Artist
Bruce Davidson
(American, 1933-)
CultureAmerican
MediumDye transfer print
DimensionsImage: 14 7/8 x 22 1/4 in. (37.8 x 56.5 cm)
Sheet: 20 x 23 13/16 in. (50.8 x 60.5 cm)
Matted: 22 x 28 in. (55.9 x 71.1 cm)
Sheet: 20 x 23 13/16 in. (50.8 x 60.5 cm)
Matted: 22 x 28 in. (55.9 x 71.1 cm)
Credit LineGift of Bannon McHenry (Bannon Jones, class of 1952)
On View
Not on viewPeriod20th c
Classification(s)
SignedSigned, LR in print margin
Vassar Exhibitions
Exhibition HistoryTampa, Florida, Florida Museum of Photograhpic Arts, “Naked City: Photographs from Vassar College’s Frences Lehman Loeb Art Center,” November 18, 2010-January 29, 2011 (no publication)Label TextFor millions of New Yorkers, the subway is part of their daily routine, acting as a space of rest a few times a day as they go to and from various destinations. In the 1980s, Bruce Davidson took particular interest in scenes of the subway. Using color film, he documented this space that he considered the connector of city life above ground and that which existed underground. Davidson was interested in the connectivity of the subway both physically and metaphorically, calling it the ‘great equalizer’ where people from all walks of life interact. In his Couple on the subway, he photographed an affectionate couple, perhaps traveling to or from a dance or date, as the sun sets over the Brooklyn Bridge and peeks through the car’s graffitied windows.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge.
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