The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Washington Square, Winter

Washington Square, Winter

1954
(American, 1894–1985)
Image: 12.7 x 9.4 cm (5 x 3 11/16 in.); Matted: 35.6 x 30.6 cm (14 x 12 1/16 in.)
© Estate of A. Kertesz
Location: not on view

Description

This elevated view of a winter landscape is a later example from Kertész’s long, distinguished career. A pivotal figure in modern photography, he pioneered the use of a small, handheld camera to capture events as they happened. In 1925, he left his native city of Budapest for the stimulating artistic environment of Paris, departing for New York City in 1936. In 1952, Kertész settled into an apartment near Washington Square Park where he enjoyed observing the passersby from his high vantage point, employing a telephoto lens to bring his subjects closer. He transformed this stark scene into a complex, slightly abstract composition, rich with ambling elements such as trees, benches, light posts, fences, and figures walking. His depiction of space is disquieting due to the elimination of a horizon line and the lack of shadows. Kertész avoided a gradual tonal range in favor of rendering the bleak vista in plain black and white. Through this absence of light and atmosphere, the image becomes frozen in time and universally symbolic.
  • Estate of the Artist
  • Hinson, Tom E. "Notable Acquisitions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 78, no. 3 (1991): 63-147. Reproduced: p. 100; Mentioned: p. 101 www.jstor.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 209
  • Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 24-September 16, 2007); Frick Art and Historical Center, Pittsburgh, PA (October 3, 2009-January 3, 2010).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (6/24/07 - 9/16/07) and Frick Art and Historical Center, Pittburgh, PA (10/3/2009 - 1/3/2010); "Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art", no exhibition catalogue.
    Notable Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 15, 1991).
    CMA, June 7 - September 15, 1991: "Notable Acquisitions," CMA Bulletin, 78 (June 1991), p. 101, repr. p. 100.
    The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk Virginia, July 9 - October 3, 1982: "Andre Kertesz: Master of Photography," repr. p. 48 of exhibition catalogue.
  • {{cite web|title=Washington Square, Winter|url=false|author=André Kertész|year=1954|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1990.90