Wright Morris no number
1951
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
contact sheet
Dimensions
sheet: 20.3 x 25.3 cm (8 x 9 15/16 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Robert Frank Collection, Gift of Robert Frank
Accession Number
1994.37.959
Art Historical Context
**Wright Morris no number** (1951) is an intimate glimpse into the working process of Robert Frank, Swiss-born photographer whose groundbreaking 1950s images redefined American documentary photography. This contact sheet—a grid of direct prints from film negatives onto a single sheet of photographic paper (20.3 x 25.3 cm)—captures multiple exposures in one frame, offering museum visitors a rare window into Frank's raw, unfiltered vision. Produced early in his U.S. career after immigrating in 1947, it hints at the meticulous editing that shaped his iconic style. The title references Wright Mor...
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...