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Untitled

1960
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
An optician with a passion for literature, jazz, and Zen philosophy, Ralph Eugene Meatyard purchased his first camera in 1950 to photograph his newborn child. He soon became a convert to the medium, a dedicated amateur who eventually won a national following among curators and poets. Ironically, considering his chosen trade, Meatyard was recognized early in his too short life for his No-Focus photographs such as this one of a figure with arms akimbo. He described the visual ambiguity and the struggle viewers have trying to bring these images into focus, as "a coming and going, a glance, the touch of a hand, a growing and a dissolving—whispers and shouts."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Untitled
  • Artist: Ralph Eugene Meatyard (American, 1925–1972)
  • Date: 1960
  • Medium: Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions: Image: 7 × 7 in. (17.8 × 17.8 cm)
    Framed: 16 × 14 in. (40.6 × 35.6 cm)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee Collection
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs