Imogen Cunningham

In the 1920s, photographer Imogen Cunningham explored patterns of light and shadow through sharp-focused, close-up views of plants, industrial subjects, and the human form. The female nude recurred throughout her practice. Cunningham’s formal exploration of her sitter’s body complements how Esther Pressoir stylistically rendered her sitters Sally and Florita, which are both to the left on this wall. Cunningham and Pressoir worked around the same time, but in different media. They both embraced a modernist approach to their art-making, focusing on highly stylized representations of the female nude that centered form and experimentation over naturalism and convention.

–Conor Moynihan, assistant curator of prints, drawings, and photographs