Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2019.

Martha Graham - Lamentation

Artist Barbara Morgan (American, 1900-1992)

CultureAmerican

Date1935

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsOverall, Image: 13 1/4 × 10 1/2 in. (33.7 × 26.7 cm)
Overall, Support: 13 1/4 × 10 1/2 in. (33.7 × 26.7 cm)
Overall, Mat: 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)

SignedRecto, bottom left on backing mat below print, pencil signature: Barbara Morgan – 1935

InscribedRecto, bottom right on backing mat below print, pencil: Martha Graham – Lamentation

Credit LineGift of Linda and Michael McGraw

Object number2019.14.21

Not on view

DescriptionThis black and white photo depicts the avant-garde artistry of American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham. She is shown dancing in a piece of fabric, with her arms stretched out in front of her and her hands clasped together. Graham described "Lamentation," first performed in 1930, as "a solo piece in which I wear a long tube of material to indicate the tragedy that obsesses the body, the ability to stretch inside your own skin, to witness and test the perimeters and boundaries of grief, which is honorable and universal."
Label TextBarbara Morgan American, 1900–1992 Martha Graham–Lamentation, 1935 Gelatin silver print (photograph) “I wear a long tube of material to indicate the tragedy that obsesses the body, the ability to stretch inside your own skin, to witness and test the perimeters and boundaries of grief,” says Martha Graham. In the mid-1930s, photographer Barbara Morgan began collaborating with the dancer to record her choreography. Graham later praised Morgan for her ability to “capture the instant of a dance and transform it into a timeless gesture.” Here, Graham performs Lamentation, a solo in which the dancer moves within a tube of fabric, creating bold shapes as she pushes against its surface. Gift of Linda and Michael McGraw 2019.14.21Exhibition History"5 Years of Photography: Building the Chrysler Collection," Photography & Focus Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, June 26 - November 10, 2019.