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Subway Portrait
ca. 1938
6 5/16 x 9 in. (15.98 x 22.86 cm)
Walker Evans (St. Louis, Missouri, 1903 - 1975, New Haven, Connecticut)
City Limits, City Life, December 13, 2014 - June 14, 2015, Historic Wing, Paul L. Davies Gallery, San José Museum of Art.
Eye Contact: Photographs from the Permanent Collection, March 5 - June 23, 2002, Koret Gallery, San José Museum of Art.
Photographic Highlights from the Permanent Collection, August 12, 1998 - January 3, 1999, Focus Gallery, San José Museum of Art.
The Last Picture Show, December 5, 1985-March 1986, Gallery 3, San José Museum of Art.
City Limits, City Life (2014-2015)
From 1938-1941 Evans used a hidden camera to create a series of candid, completely unposed, portraits. His concealed camera allowed him to capture “people’s faces in naked repose down in the subway.” Evans believed that the subway was a place to catch people at their most unaware.
In this portrait, our focal point is a habit clad nun. A cross hanging around her neck is partially concealed by her otherwise tidy garments. She sits stiff, carefully minding her personal space. It is her face however, just as Evans intended, that draws attention to this subject. The nun is looking slightly up and to her right. Perhaps lost in thought, or looking critically at a standing patron of the same train, the nun frowns slightly. In juxtaposition with this woman lost in thought is a nun who seems to stare directly at the camera. Though she may just being looking at Evans, unknowing of the hidden camera, the nun holds herself differently. Conscience of her surrounding and the people taking notice of them, the Sister stares sternly at the camera.
The photograph draws attention to the diversity of people, needs, and actions part of daily life in a city. Though the subway could serve as a rich environment to engage with people in our community, conversely they become silent vessels transporting self-enraptured individuals from place to place.
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by Artist (190)
by Country (2)
Subway Portrait
Photograph
ca. 19386 5/16 x 9 in. (15.98 x 22.86 cm)
Walker Evans (St. Louis, Missouri, 1903 - 1975, New Haven, Connecticut)
Object Type: Photograph
Medium and Support: Gelatin silver print on paper
Credit Line: Gift of David Devine, San Francisco, California
Accession Number: 1984.23
Exhibition
City Limits, City Life, December 13, 2014 - June 14, 2015, Historic Wing, Paul L. Davies Gallery, San José Museum of Art.
Eye Contact: Photographs from the Permanent Collection, March 5 - June 23, 2002, Koret Gallery, San José Museum of Art.
Photographic Highlights from the Permanent Collection, August 12, 1998 - January 3, 1999, Focus Gallery, San José Museum of Art.
The Last Picture Show, December 5, 1985-March 1986, Gallery 3, San José Museum of Art.
SJMA Label Text
City Limits, City Life (2014-2015)
From 1938-1941 Evans used a hidden camera to create a series of candid, completely unposed, portraits. His concealed camera allowed him to capture “people’s faces in naked repose down in the subway.” Evans believed that the subway was a place to catch people at their most unaware.
In this portrait, our focal point is a habit clad nun. A cross hanging around her neck is partially concealed by her otherwise tidy garments. She sits stiff, carefully minding her personal space. It is her face however, just as Evans intended, that draws attention to this subject. The nun is looking slightly up and to her right. Perhaps lost in thought, or looking critically at a standing patron of the same train, the nun frowns slightly. In juxtaposition with this woman lost in thought is a nun who seems to stare directly at the camera. Though she may just being looking at Evans, unknowing of the hidden camera, the nun holds herself differently. Conscience of her surrounding and the people taking notice of them, the Sister stares sternly at the camera.
The photograph draws attention to the diversity of people, needs, and actions part of daily life in a city. Though the subway could serve as a rich environment to engage with people in our community, conversely they become silent vessels transporting self-enraptured individuals from place to place.
Additional Images Click an image to view a larger version
Dimensions
- Image Dimensions: 6 5/16 x 9 in. (15.98 x 22.86 cm)
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