Country Boy in front of National Palace Backdrop, Sololá
Between 1971 and 1979, Ann Parker traveled throughout rural Guatemala, working alongside the itinerant photographers who plied their trade at village fairs and religious festivals. These journeymen offered their clientele the rare opportunity to sit for a portrait, thus providing the images necessary for government identification cards, as well as personal mementos. For many of the subjects, these inexpensive postcard-sized (or smaller) photographs were the only pictures they would ever have made of themselves. Parker’s series, published in the 1982 book Los Ambulantes: The Itinerant Photographers of Guatemala, documents a photographic practice that existed since the nineteenth century, but had, by the 1970s, almost disappeared. Here, Parker reveals the vibrant, if rudimentary, trappings of makeshift studios, which featured boldly painted backdrops that transported sitters from a rural village to Guatemala City. The young boy in this portrait does not smile or mug for the camera; instead, his rigid stance and deadpan facial expression suggests the novelty of his experience posing for a picture. In its directness, Parker’s photograph captures more than the practice of itinerant photographers, and conveys the quintessential magic of photography.
Artwork Details
- Title: Country Boy in front of National Palace Backdrop, Sololá
- Artist: Ann Parker (American, 1934–2022)
- Date: 1970s
- Medium: Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions: Image: 12 × 8 in. (30.5 × 20.3 cm)
Mount: 18 3/8 in. × 14 in. (46.7 × 35.6 cm) - Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Fund, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2016
- Object Number: 2016.464
- Rights and Reproduction: © Ann Parker
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Ann Parker
1970s
Ann Parker
1970s
Ann Parker
1960s
Ann Parker
1960s
Ann Parker
ca. 1963
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.