Self-Portrait
1964/1969
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image/sheet: 13.7 x 20.6 cm (5 3/8 x 8 1/8 in.) mount: 35.6 x 27.9 cm (14 x 11 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Patrons' Permanent Fund
Accession Number
2001.22.88
Art Historical Context
Lee Friedlander's *Self-Portrait* (1964/1969), a gelatin silver print from the National Gallery of Art's collection, exemplifies the innovative spirit of mid-20th-century American photography. Acquired through the Patrons' Permanent Fund, this modestly scaled image—13.7 x 20.6 cm on a larger 35.6 x 27.9 cm mount—dates from a period when Friedlander was honing his distinctive street photography style. Gelatin silver prints, prized for their rich tonal range and sharp detail, were the gold standard for black-and-white work, allowing photographers like him to capture urban complexity with exquisi...
About the Artist
Lee Friedlander
Lee Friedlander, born on July 14, 1934, in Aberdeen, Washington, to a Finnish-descended mother, Kaari Nurmi, and German-Jewish émigré father, Fritz Friedlander, discovered photography at age 14 amid a fascination with the medium's equipment. Tragedy marked his childhood when his mother died of cancer at age seven, yet he pursued his passion, earning pocket money with a camera before studying under...