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Creator:
Cunningham, Imogen, 1883-1976  Search this
Names:
George Eastman House  Search this
Group f.64  Search this
Henry Art Gallery  Search this
Witkin Gallery  Search this
Aalto, Alvar, 1898-1976  Search this
Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984  Search this
Andreson, Laura  Search this
Bissantz, Edgar, 1901-  Search this
Bourke-White, Margaret, 1904-1971  Search this
Bristol, Horace  Search this
Bullock, Wynn  Search this
Butler, John Davidson, 1890-1974  Search this
Coburn, Alvin Langdon, 1882-1966  Search this
Feininger, Lyonel, 1871-1956  Search this
Graves, Morris, 1910-2001  Search this
Hellman, Lillian, 1905-1984  Search this
Kanaga, Consuelo, 1894-  Search this
Lange, Dorothea  Search this
Mann, Margery  Search this
Moholy-Nagy, László, 1895-1946  Search this
Newhall, Beaumont, 1908-1993  Search this
Newman, Arnold, 1918-2006  Search this
Noskowiak, Sonya, d. 1975  Search this
O'Keeffe, Georgia, 1887-1986  Search this
Partridge, Roi, 1888-1984  Search this
Schoener, Allon  Search this
Sheeler, Charles, 1883-1965  Search this
Steichen, Edward, 1879-1973  Search this
Steinert, Otto, 1915-  Search this
Strand, Paul, 1890-1976  Search this
Struss, Karl, 1886-  Search this
Toklas, Alice B.  Search this
Van Dyke, Willard  Search this
Weston, Edward, 1886-1958  Search this
White, Minor  Search this
Witkin, Lee D.  Search this
Zorach, William, 1887-1966  Search this
Extent:
5.9 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Illustrated letters
Photographs
Date:
1903-1991
Summary:
The papers of photographer and teacher Imogen Cunningham, date from 1903 to 1991. The collection measures 5.9 feet of material, including correspondence, business and financial records, writings, printed matter, and photographs, and provides a good overview of Cunningham's life and career.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of photographer and teacher Imogen Cunningham, date from 1903 to 1991. The collection measures 5.9 feet of material, including correspondence, business and financial records, writings, printed matter, and photographs, and provides a good overview of Cunningham's life and career. 3.6 linear feet of correspondence comprise the bulk of the collection.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into ten series according to material type: Missing Title Series 1: Biographical Material, 1907-1981, undated (box 1; 4 folders) Series 2: Correspondence, 1909-1991, undated (boxes 1-4; 3.6 linear feet) Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1944-1976 (box 4; 15 folders) Series 4: Notes, 1959-1968 (box 4; 10 folders) Series 5: Teaching Files, 1964-1971 (box 5; 4 folders) Series 6: Writings, circa 1910-1976 (box 5; 21 folders) Series 7: Interview Transcripts, 1951, undated (box 5; 2 folders) Series 8: Printed Material, 1903-1991 (boxes 5-7; 1.2 linear feet) Series 9: Photographs, 1916-1976 (box 7; 12 folders) Series 10: Oversized Material, 1947-1948, 1967, undated
Biographical Note:
Born in Portland, Oregon on April 12, 1883, Cunningham's family moved to Seattle in 1889. Inspired by Gertrude Kasebier's work, she purchased her first camera in 1901. After studying chemistry and botany at the University of Washington, she worked for the Edward S. Curtis Studio, Seattle, from 1907 to 1909. Receiving a scholarship, Cunningham studied for a year at the Technische Hochschule, Dresden. Upon her return to Seattle in 1910, she opened a studio and had the first major exhibition of her work at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences in 1912. In 1915, Cunningham married printmaker Roi Partridge and gave birth to her first son, Gryffyd. Two years later, her family moved to California, where she gave birth to twin sons, Padraic and Rondal. In 1920, the family moved to Oakland, where her husband taught at Mills College. During the 1920s, she exhibited her art work and began photographing plant forms. Along with Ansel Adams, John Paul Edwards, Sonya Noskowiak, Henry Swift, Willard Van Dyke, and Edward Weston, Cunningham formed the f/64 Group, a society of purist photographers in 1932. During the same year she began working for Vanity Fair and other magazines and began a career as a portrait photographer, including Martha Graham, Cary Grant, Morris Graves, Alfred Stieglitz, and Spencer Tracy as her subjects. She divorced her husband in 1934. In 1947, Cunningham established a studio in her San Francisco home, and continued to exhibit extensively until her death on June 24, 1976.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by Imogen Cunningham in 1974 and 1976, and by her son, Gryffyd Partridge, in 1991.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Photographers -- California -- San Francisco  Search this
Educators -- California -- San Francisco  Search this
Topic:
Photographers  Search this
Photography, Artistic  Search this
Portrait photography  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women photographers  Search this
Women educators  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Illustrated letters
Photographs
Citation:
Imogen Cunningham papers, 1903-1991. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.cunnimog
See more items in:
Imogen Cunningham papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9692b1f2c-56ce-4f9d-bef5-dc1636bd4128
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-cunnimog