Object Details
Artist
Edward Jean Steichen, 27 Mar 1879 - 25 Mar 1973
Sitter
Martha Graham, 11 May 1894 - 1 Apr 1991
Exhibition Label
Born Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
A pioneer of modern dance in America, Martha Graham introduced powerful new modes of expressive movement to the art form. Often filled with tension and emotion, her dances offered “visible substance to things felt.” Motion and dynamism were fundamental tenets of modernism, as was the quest to “make it new.” In this spirit, Graham saw herself as both “a dancer and an inventor.”
Establishing the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in 1926, she trained the next wave of modern dancers, choreographers, and teachers, among them Merce Cunningham and Paul Taylor.
In an era before moving images made it possible to photograph a dancer in motion, Graham “performed” for Steichen’s camera by re-creating moments from her well-known work Lamentation (1930). Confined within a tube of stretch jersey fabric, she assumed a series of dramatic poses, each of which she held for a few seconds. The result was described by Steichen as “a combination of dancing, choreography, and heroic sculpture.”
Nacida en Allegheny County, Pensilvania
Pionera de la danza moderna en Estados Unidos, Martha Graham introdujo poderosos lenguajes de movimiento expresivo en dicho arte. Sus coreografías, cargadas de tensión y emoción, otorgaban “sustancia visible a las cosas sentidas”. Dado que el movimiento y el dinamismo, así como la búsqueda de “lo nuevo”, eran principios esenciales del modernismo, Graham se consideraba “bailarina e inventora”.
En 1926 fundó la Escuela Martha Graham de Danza Contemporánea, donde formó a una nueva generación de bailarines, coreógrafos y maestros modernos, entre ellos Merce Cunningham y Paul Taylor.
Antes de que las imágenes en movimiento permitieran fotografiar a una bailarina en plena acción, Graham “actuó” para la cámara de Steichen recreando momentos de su conocida obra Lamento (1930). Confinada dentro de un tubo de tela elástica, sostuvo por varios segundos una serie de poses dramáticas. Steichen describió el resultado como “una combinación de danza, coreografía y escultura heroica”.
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquired in memory of Agnes and Eugene Meyer through the generosity of Katharine Graham and the New York Community Trust, The Island Fund
Date
1931
Object number
NPG.2001.23
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© The Estate of Edward Steichen / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Type
Photograph
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
Image: 24.3 x 19.7cm (9 9/16 x 7 3/4")
Sheet: 25.1 x 20.1cm (9 7/8 x 7 15/16")
Mat: 55.9 x 40.6cm (22 x 16")
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Exhibition
American Winners: Athletes and Entertainers Who Shaped the Nation
On View
NPG, West Gallery 240
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Interior\Studio\Photography
Martha Graham: Female
Martha Graham: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Dance\Dancer
Martha Graham: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Dance\Choreographer
Martha Graham: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Dance\Dance instructor
Martha Graham: Civilian awards\Presidential Medal of Freedom
Portrait
Link to Original Record
Record ID
npg_NPG.2001.23