The Airship Akron, Winner Goodyear Zeppelin Race
Artist
Margaret Bourke-White
(American, 1904-1971)
CultureAmerican
Date1931
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsOverall, Frame: 25 1/4 × 31 1/4 in. (64.1 × 79.4 cm)
Overall, Image: 16 1/2 × 22 in. (41.9 × 55.9 cm)
Overall, Image: 16 1/2 × 22 in. (41.9 × 55.9 cm)
InscribedSigned lower right on image: Bourke White. ;
Also on the frame is this inscription:;
Chas. Bellitte;
Third Annual Goodyear Dealers Zeppelin Race;
July-August 1931;
This frame is made of duralumin used in girder construction of the United States airship "Akron" built by the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation.;
Credit LineGift of Mark Kelman
Object number2002.22
Not on view
DescriptionThis is a gelatin silver print of a dirigible, or airship, in its original riveted duralumin presentation frame made from girders used in construction of the USS Akron. The image illustrates the dirigible being pulled out of the shed by rolling framework attached to the front. People are gathered around the massive structure. This photograph most probably illustrated the christening of the airship by Mrs. Herbert Hoover.Label TextMargaret Bourke-White American (1904-1971) The Airship Akron, Winner Goodyear Zeppelin Race, 1931 Gelatin-silver print Gift of Mark Kelman 2002.22 Margaret Bourke-White's career was marked by a succession of firsts. She was the first female photojournalist to serve as a staff photographer for both LIFE and Fortune magazines. Indeed, the first issue of LIFE carried one of her photographs on the cover (see illustration). Bourke-White was the first Western photographer permitted to enter the Soviet Union, and was the first American female war correspondent. During World War II, she photographed in combat zones and was one of the few photographers allowed to document Nazi concentration camps. Bourke-White's career began in 1927 when she opened her own commercial studio in Cleveland, Ohio. Her early work focused on architectural and industrial subjects, and she soon won important corporate clients such as Otis Steel Company and The Goodyear Corporation. The Chrysler's photograph was made to commemorate the victory of the USS Akron in the 1931 Goodyear Dealers Zeppelin Race. The print retains its original presentation frame made of duralumin, the material used in the girder construction of the Akron. ProvenanceEdwynn Houk and Mark Kelman, New York; Gift of Edwynn Houk and Mark Kelman to the Chrysler Museum of Art, 2002. Exhibition History"Women: Art and Identity," Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, Va., June 24 - August 26, 2004. "Women of the Chrysler: a 400-Year Celebration of the Arts," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., March 24 - July 18, 2010.
Benjamin Adworth Richardson
ca. 1907
