Self-Portrait
1964/1969
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image/sheet: 14.3 x 23.7 cm (5 5/8 x 9 5/16 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
Trellis Fund
Accession Number
2001.22.58
Art Historical Context
Lee Friedlander's *Self-Portrait* (4/1969) is striking gelatin silver print that captures the artist's innovative approach to photography during the vibrant 1960s American scene. Friedlander, a key figure in street photography and the "social landscape" movement, often embedded himself into urban environments through reflections, shadows, and fragmented compositions. This modest-sized image (14.3 x 23.7 cm) exemplifies his signature style: a playful yet probing self-examination that blurs the line between portraiture and environmental snapshot. Printed via the classic gelatin silver process—r...
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...