Vietnam
1996
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 37.9 x 37.5 cm (14 15/16 x 14 3/4 in.) sheet: 50.6 x 40.8 cm (19 15/16 x 16 1/16 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Patrons' Permanent Fund
Accession Number
2001.22.244
Art Historical Context
Lee Friedlander's *Vietnam* (1996) is a striking gelatin silver print, capturing the artist's discerning eye for the world's visual intricacies. Friedlander, a pivotal figure in American photography since the 1960s, is celebrated for his street photography that layers foreground elements, reflections, and shadows into dense, disorienting compositions. This 37.9 x 37.5 cm image, housed in the National Gallery of's photography collection through the Patrons' Permanent, exemplifies his black-and-white mastery, where the gelatin silver process yields rich tonal gradations and fine detail, evoking ...
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...