NEWS RELEASE ARCHIVES
Museum Acquires Rare Photographs by Eugene Atget
Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photography Galleries
Through January 5, 2003
Eugene Atget (French, 1857-1927) |
Among the Chrysler's newest acquisitions are six vintage photographs by Eugene Atget, one of the foremost artists in the history of photography. Atget worked at the turn of the last century with the intention of photographing everything that was beautiful in and around Paris. In slightly more than a 30-year time period he made an astonishing number of negatives-approximately 10,000 dating from the early 1890s to 1927, the year of his death.
With much of his training based in the 19th-century photographic tradition, as Atget moved into the 20th century, his work took a decisively modernist turn. Although Atget photographed much of Paris and its environs, it is noteworthy that he did not photograph either the Eiffel Tower or Garnier's Opera, both creations of the 19th century. His interest was with France's glorious history and its present.
In 1890-91, he advertised his work as "Documents for Artists" with the intention of making photographs that could be purchased and used by artists to create artworks in other media. Among Atget's admirers were the avant-garde group of artists known as the Surrealists, which he contributed to many of their publications in the 1920's, and major French institutions such as the Bibliotheque Nationale and the Musee Carnavalet. However, he did not work in the employ of any of the many official French agencies dedicated to photographing in the country. Although his life would have been much more secure, Atget preferred to work independently as an artist. In writing, Atget did not refer to himself as a photographer, but rather identified himself as artistie dramatique or auteur editeur.
At the time of Atget's death, the French government purchased 2,000 of his negatives. The remaining contents of his studio-1,300 negatives, 5,000 prints of individual images, plus multiple prints-were purchased by the photographer Berenice Abbott and the art dealer Julien Levy. They in turn sold the collection in 1968 to The Museum of Modern Art in New York.
The photographs acquired by the Chrysler were deaccessioned by the Museum of Modern Art in New York as they were among 1,000 of their duplicate Atget photographs. Many of these prints exist in only two or three examples. Some have never before been on the market. Together with one existing photograph in the Museum's collection, the Chrysler now has a notable selection of work by this master of the photographic art. The addition of these rare photographs was made possible by the Board Designated Accessions Fund and the Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. Photography Fund.
These extraordinary photographs will be on view in the photography galleries through January 5, 2003.
For More Information or Images Please Contact the Public Relations Department at (757) 333-6295 or bdyer@chrysler.org
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