Cut Paper
1980
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image/sheet: 24.2 x 18.7 cm (9 1/2 x 7 3/8 in.) mount: 38 x 31.7 cm (14 15/16 x 12 1/2 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Frederick Sommer
Accession Number
1995.5.11
Art Historical Context
Frederick Sommer's *Cut Paper* (1980) is a gelatin silver print that invites viewers to consider the quiet beauty found in simple materials. Measuring just 24.2 by 18.7 centimeters, the photograph transforms ordinary paper into an intriguing study of light, shadow, and texture. Sommer, known for his experimental approach throughout the twentieth century, here explores how cutting and arranging paper can create abstract compositions that feel both precise and organic. The gelatin silver process itself lends the work its characteristic depth of tone and fine detail, allowing subtle folds and ed...
About the Artist
Frederick Sommer
Frederick Sommer (1905–1999) was one of the most singular and philosophically searching visual artists of twentieth-century America, a figure who defied easy categorization as he moved between photography, drawing, collage, and theoretical writing across a career spanning more than six decades. Born in Angri, Italy, and raised in Brazil, Sommer earned a master's degree in landscape architecture fr...