Details

Title

Blind Woman, New York

Artist/Maker

Paul Strand (American, 1890–1976)

Date

1916

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Dimensions

Contact the museum for more information

Credit

Gift of Michael E. Hoffman

Accession #

1990.66.2

On View

Currently not on view

In the fall of 1916, Paul Strand, a member of Alfred Stieglitz’s Pictorialist circle, took his camera to the streets. He attached a right-angle prism to the lens so he could face in one direction while photographing in another. With this method, Strand sought to capture individual pedestrians detached from their urban surroundings. Rather than document the bustle of the New York City sidewalks, he chose to concentrate on singular portraits. This image of a blind woman is hauntingly powerful in its clarity and isolation.