Cunningham, Imogen

Cunningham, Imogen
born April 12, 1883, Portland, Ore., U.S.
died June 24, 1976, San Francisco, Calif.

U.S. photographer.

She began taking pictures in 1901; her earliest prints imitated contemporary academic painting. She opened a portrait studio in Seattle, Wash., in 1910 and soon established a national reputation as a portrait photographer. Encouraged by Edward Weston, she exhibited her plant photographs in San Francisco, where she would work for the remainder of her career. In 1932 she joined the West Coast photographers known as Group f.64. Later in her career she taught at the San Francisco Art Institute.

Two Callas, by Imogen Cunningham, c. 1929.

Imogen Cunningham

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▪ American photographer
born April 12, 1883, Portland, Oregon, U.S.
died June 24, 1976, San Francisco, California

      American photographer who is best known for her portraits and her images of plant life.

      Cunningham studied at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she developed an interest in photography. Her earliest prints were made in the tradition of Pictorialism, a style of photography that imitated academic painting from the turn of the century. After studying photography at the Technische Hochschule in Dresden, Germany, from 1909 to 1910, Cunningham opened a portrait studio in Seattle in 1910 and soon established a solid reputation. Her commercial portraiture was straightforward, but she continued to produce soft-focused allegorical prints. She married etcher Roi Partridge in 1915, and the couple moved to San Francisco in 1917.

 By the early 1920s Cunningham began to change her style, creating close-up, sharply detailed studies of plant life and other natural forms. Her experiments with form allied her with other Modernist photographers at the time, and in 1932 Cunningham joined the association of West Coast photographers known as Group f.64. Like other members of the group, she rejected the soft-focused sentimental subjects that were then popular in favour of images such as Two Callas (c. 1929), which conveys a sensuous delight in nature.

      In the early 1930s, Cunningham worked briefly for Vanity Fair and produced images of entertainers and celebrities. After the breakup of Group f.64, she ran a portrait gallery and taught at several California art schools. A retrospective monograph, Imogen! Imogen Cunningham Photographs, 1910–1973, was published in 1974, and her final photographs were published in After Ninety in 1977.

Additional Reading
Judy Dater, Imogen Cunningham: A Portrait (1979); Amy Rule (ed.), Imogen Cunningham: Selected Texts and Bibliography (1992); Richard Lorenz, Imogen Cunningham: Ideas Without End (1993).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Cunningham, Imogen — (12 abr. 1883, Portland, Ore., EE.UU.–24 jun. 1976, San Francisco, Cal.). Fotógrafa estadounidense. Comenzó a tomar fotografías en 1901. Sus primeras copias imitaban la pintura académica contemporánea. Abrió un estudio de retratos en Seattle,… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Imogen Cunningham — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Cunningham. Imogen Cunningham Rêve, 1910 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Imogen Cunningham — (April 12 1883 June 24 1976) was an American photographer known for her photography of botanicals, nudes and industry.Cunningham was born in Portland, Oregon. In 1901, at the age of 18, Cunningham bought her first camera, a 4x5 inch view camera,… …   Wikipedia

  • Imogen Cunningham — (* 12. April 1883 in Portland/Oregon; † 24. Juni 1976 in San Francisco) war eine US amerikanische Fotografin, die zu den „Klassikern“ der modernen Fotografie des 20. Jahrhunderts gezählt wird. Cunningham war ein Gründungsmitglied der Gruppe f/64 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Imogen Cunningham — « Sueño » (inglés: Dream ), por Imogen Cunningham en 1910 …   Wikipedia Español

  • Imogen — (ausgesprochen ˈɪmədʒiːn) ist ein weiblicher Vorname, der von einer Rolle aus William Shakespeares Theaterstück Cymbeline abgeleitet ist. Die Form Imogen geht dabei, wie neuere Forschungen beweisen, auf eine Verschreibung des Namens Innogen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cunningham — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Abe Cunningham (* 1973), US amerikanischer Schlagzeuger Alan Cunningham (1887–1983), britischer General Alexander Cunningham (Historiker) (1654–1737), britischer Diplomat und Historiker Alexander… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cunningham (crater) — Cunningham is the crater to the right, surrounded by bright rays Planet Mercury …   Wikipedia

  • Imogen — Infobox Given Name Revised name = Imogen imagesize=200px caption=Imogen from William Shakespeare s Cymbeline in a painting by Herbert Gustave Schmalz. pronunciation= Im uh jen gender = Female meaning = maiden region = England, Ireland, Scotland… …   Wikipedia

  • Cunningham — For other uses, see Cunningham (disambiguation). Cunningham is a surname of Scottish origin, see Clan Cunningham. Notable people with the family name include: Aaron Cunningham, American baseball player Abe Cunningham, American drummer Alan… …   Wikipedia

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