Self-Portrait
1964/1969
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image/sheet: 16 x 24.9 cm (6 5/16 x 9 13/16 in.) mount: 27.9 x 35.6 cm (11 x 14 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Patrons' Permanent Fund
Accession Number
2001.22.148
Art Historical Context
Lee Friedlander's *Self-Portrait* (4/1969) captures the artist's signature playful yet probing approach to identity and perception. Created during the vibrant era of 1960s American street, this gelatin silver print—printed around 1969 from an earlier negative—exemplifies Friedlander's in the influential "New Documentary" movement alongside peers like Garry Winogrand and Diane Arbus At just 16 x 24.9 cm, the scale draws viewers into his fragmented urban world, where the self is often glimpsed indirectly through reflections, shadows, or signage. Friedlander's technique masterfully layers space,...
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...