Thames Street, #3

1974

Aaron Siskind's development as a photographer paralleled the movement of American art, from the social realism of the 1930s to the more formal, abstract concerns of the 1950s onward. Siskind was an English teacher in New York City in 1930, when he joined the Film and Photo League, a group that advocated socially relevant, documentary photography. He became the director of group projects, such as the Harlem Document. Siskind's increasingly personal photographic statements began to come under criticism from the League, and he eventually disassociated himself from it. His photographic style continued to evolve to the point where subject matter was no longer important; his focus was on elemental shapes, similar to those which appeared in abstract expressionist paintings. Siskind was a pioneer in teaching photography as a fine art, and was one of the founders of the Society for Photographic Education.

Newport, RI

Gelatin silver print

mat: 16 in x 20 in; image: 9 1/2 in x 10 in

Gift of Malcolm and Clarice Grear

2004.005.005