Strangler Fig Roots, Everglades National Park, Florida

Eliot Porter American

Not on view

The saturated hues and remarkable sharpness of this photograph emphasize the strangler fig roots’ varied textures, bumps, and grooves. The roots either help to stabilize and anchor the trunk or overpower it to the point where the host tree can no longer survive. The intertwining flora suggests how two entities can come together and successfully thrive as a hybrid or falter as one wields too much power and subsumes the other. Known for his color photographs and their role in galvanizing America’s early conservation movement, Porter had the first single-artist exhibition of color photographs presented at The Met in 1979.

Strangler Fig Roots, Everglades National Park, Florida, Eliot Porter (American, 1901–1990), Dye transfer print

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.