Santa Cruz
1973-1978, printed 1994
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 29.21 × 19.05 cm (11 1/2 × 7 1/2 in.) sheet: 35.56 × 27.94 cm (14 × 11 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
2015.19.4541
Art Historical Context
Richard Gordon's *Santa Cruz*, a gelatin silver print created between 1973 and 1978 and printed in 1994, captures a moment from the vibrant cultural landscape of the 1970s. This black-and-white photograph, measuring 29.21 × 19.05 cm, exemplifies the meticulous craftsmanship of mid-20th-century American photography. The title evokes the coastal city of Santa Cruz, California—a hub of counterculture, surfing, and artistic experimentation during that era—inviting viewers to ponder its subject amid the era's social upheavals and creative freedoms. Gelatin silver prints, like this one, are prized ...
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...