Portrait of Ellen Frank

Artist: László Moholy-Nagy, American (born Hungary), 1895–1946
Depicted: Ellen Frank, German, 1904–1999
Date: 1929
Material: Gelatin silver print
Classification: Photographs
Collection: Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
Current Location: Not on view
Dimensions: image: 14 5/8 in. x 11 in. (37.2 x 27.9 cm)
sheet (irregular): 15 7/8 in. x 12 in. (40.3 x 30.5 cm)
Credit Line: Funds given by donors to the Art Enrichment Fund
Rights: Public Domain
Object Number: 31:1997

NOTES

In "Portrait of Ellen Frank," Lázló Moholy-Nagy concentrates on the curves and varied textures of the human body that reflect light in complex ways. The dynamism in the lines of two blades of grass—cutting across the picture plane and falling as shadow on the face and body—intertwines the woman physically and visually with her pastoral setting. The subject, Ellen Frank, was László Moholy-Nagy’s partner after he and his first wife Lucia separated in 1929.

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