Trees--Landscape
1941-1945
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed to image): 17.9 x 10.4 cm (7 1/16 x 4 1/8 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Robert Frank Collection, Gift of Robert Frank
Accession Number
1994.37.107
Art Historical Context
"Trees—Landscape," a serene gelatin silver print by Robert Frank, captures the quiet beauty of nature during the early 1940s (1941–1945). Created when Frank was a young photographer in his native Switzerland, this trimmed image measures just 17.9 x 10.4 cm, inviting intimate contemplation. Gelatin silver prints, the gold standard for black-and-white photography in the mid-20th century, exceptional tonal range and fine detail, allowing Frank's keen eye to render trees with subtle textures and atmospheric depth. This early work predates Frank's iconic 1958 photobook *The Americans*, which revol...
About the Artist
Robert Frank
Robert Frank (1924-2019) was a Swiss-American photographer and documentary filmmaker whose revolutionary approach to documentary photography fundamentally transformed the medium and influenced generations of artists. Born in Zurich, Switzerland, on November 9, 1924, to a middle-class Jewish family, Frank began his photographic apprenticeship in 1941, working with commercial photographers before im...