Beginnings, Frosted Window (72 N. Union Street, Rochester)
1962
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image/sheet: 23.5 × 18.42 cm (9 1/4 × 7 1/4 in.) mount: 43.82 × 34.29 cm (17 1/4 × 13 1/2 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Firestone Contemporary Art Fund)
Accession Number
2015.19.5096
Art Historical Context
Minor White's *Beginnings, Frosted (72 N. Union, Rochester)* (1962) is a delicate gelatin silver print that captures the ethereal patterns of frost on a windowpane, transforming an everyday winter scene into a meditative abstraction. Measuring just 23.5 × 18.42 cm on its sheet, this intimate photograph invites close contemplation, its subtle tonal gradations revealing intricate crystalline formations that evoke transience and renewal—themes resonant with the title "Beginnings." The Rochester address hints at a personal connection, as White lived and worked in the area during key periods of his...
About the Artist
Minor White
Minor White (1908–1976) was an American photographer, editor, and educator who became one of the most influential figures in postwar American art photography. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he studied botany and English at the University of Minnesota before turning to photography in the late 1930s, working for the WPA and the Portland Art Museum. After serving in World War II, White studied at C...