Africa: At Lanbarene with Albert Schweitzer
Artist
W. Eugene Smith
(1918-1978)
CultureAmerican
Date1954
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsOverall, Image: 8 1/2 × 5 1/8 in. (21.6 × 13 cm)
Overall, Paper: 10 × 8 in. (25.4 × 20.3 cm)
Overall, Mat: 20 × 16 1/16 in. (50.8 × 40.8 cm)
Overall, Paper: 10 × 8 in. (25.4 × 20.3 cm)
Overall, Mat: 20 × 16 1/16 in. (50.8 × 40.8 cm)
InscribedSigned on verso in pen and in graphite with 6th Street, NYC address
Credit LineGift of Dr. Stephen Nicholas
Object number2006.18.22
Not on view
DescriptionThis gelatin silver print is of a woman walking down a dirt path. She is wearing a dress, a string of beads and is smoking a pipe. She is carrying items on the top of her head.Label TextW. Eugene Smith American (1918-1978) Africa: At Lanbarene with Albert Schweitzer, 1954 Gelatin-silver print Gift of Dr. Stephen Nicholas 2006.18.22 One of the most important American photojournalists, Smith conducted work under the principle "let truth be the prejudice." His famous photo-essays Spanish Village, Nurse-Midwife, Country Doctor, helped define the look of LIFE magazine in the 1940s and 1950s and established a model for subsequent work in the essay form. Smith was compassionate toward his subjects and uncompromising about the use of his images, maintaining control over editing and even layout of his stories. This photograph was used in the photo-essay A Man of Mercy published in LIFE November 15, 1954. This story profiled Dr. Albert Schweitzer a medical missionary to lepers in Gabon, Africa. Edited By: CW Edited Date: 2007 Approved By: ERL Approval Date: 2007ProvenanceDr. Stephen Nicholas [via guidance of Michael Mattis], Scarsdale, NY; Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, Gift of Dr. Stephen Nicholas, 2006. Exhibition History"The World of Photography," Alice R. and Frank B. Sol Photography Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, June 20, 2007 - May 25, 2008 Published ReferencesW. Eugene Smith, _W. Eugene Smith: Master of the Photographic Essay_ (New York: Aperture, 1981) A print of this photograph
