Shadow, Chicago
1951
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed to image): 19.6 x 13.9 cm (7 11/16 x 5 1/2 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Robert B. Menschel Fund
Accession Number
2000.10.1
Art Historical Context
**Shadow, Chicago** (1951) by Marvin Newman is a striking gelatin silver print that captures the interplay of light and form in urban America. Measuring a compact 19.6 x 13.9 cm, this trimmed photograph exemplifies mid-20th-century street photography, a genre that thrived in the post-World War II era as artists documented the energy of growing cities like Chicago. Newman's image, with its evocative title, likely highlights a shadow's abstract silhouette against the city's architecture, transforming everyday scenes into poetic compositions. Gelatin silver prints, the dominant medium for black-...