The Digging Dykes of Decatur
1993
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 37.4 × 55.9 cm (14 3/4 × 22 in.) sheet: 50.5 × 60.9 cm (19 7/8 × 24 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Nancy Andrews and Annie O'Neill
Accession Number
2022.122.17
Art Historical Context
**The Digging Dykes Decatur** (1993) is a striking gelatin silver print by American photographer Nancy Andrews, measuring 37.4 × 55.9 cm (image) on a larger 50.5 × 60.9 cm sheet.ured in the early 1990s, this black-and-white photograph exemplifies the gelatin silver process—a classic darkroom technique prized for its tonal gradations, sharp detail, and enduring archival quality. Popular through much of the 20th, it allowed artists like Andrews to achieve nuanced contrasts that convey texture and emotion with remarkable fidelity. The title playfully evokes a scene of laborious activity in Decat...
About the Artist
Nancy Andrews
Nancy Evelyn Andrews is an American artist and filmmaker whose inventive hybrid works — weaving together animation, puppetry, live-action narrative, documentary, music, and handmade props — have earned her a place among the most original voices in contemporary experimental cinema. She completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Maryland Institute College of Art in 1983 and a Master of Fine Arts at th...