Atlantic City
1973-1978, printed 1994
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 19.05 × 29.21 cm (7 1/2 × 11 1/2 in.) sheet: 27.94 × 35.56 cm (11 × 14 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift of Mr. Isidore and Mrs. Dorothy (Steinberg) Kavka and Museum Purchase)
Accession Number
2016.117.77
Art Historical Context
Richard Gordon's *Atlantic City* (1973–1978, printed 1994) is a captivating gelatin silver print that captures the gritty allure of the iconic New Jersey boardwalk in its pre-casino heyday. Measuring 19.05 × 29.21 cm, this intimate photograph exemplifies Gordon's documentary style, honed during the 1970s when he immersed himself in the fading world of burlesque performers, carnival workers, and seaside spectacles. The black-and-white image evokes the raw energy and human drama of Atlantic City, a resort town synonymous with glamour and decline during that era. Gelatin silver prints, like this...
About the Artist
Richard Gordon
Richard Gordon (1945–2012) was a self-taught American photographer born in Chicago, Illinois. He studied political science at the University of Chicago from 1963 to 1967 but discovered photography in 1965 while working at a local studio.) Early in his career, Robert Frank critiqued his work, praising his passion for the medium, and Gordon frequently paid homage to influences like Eugène Atget, Wal...