Today, April 12th, is the birthday of Imogen Cunningham, one of the early twentieth century’s leading nature and portrait photographers.
Imogen Cunningham was born one hundred and forty years ago in Portland, Oregon, on 12 April 1883. She died in 1976 at the age of ninety-three. Known for both her early work on botanical subjects and her portraits of notable people, she was also a scientist who conducted research into photographic processing methods.
She bought her first camera (a 4×5 inch view format) in 1901 when eighteen, but only took up photography seriously in 1906 while studying at the University of Washington in Seattle. Imogen was the only one of her nine siblings to attend college. While studying, she worked part-time in the Botany department, photographing samples to earn money for her tuition.
Imogen Cunningham the chemist
After graduating with a degree in Chemistry and several years working in the studio of Edward S. Curtis, she won a scholarship to study at the Technische Hochschule in Dresden. There she sought cheaper alternatives to the expensive platinum photographic process learned with Curtis. This involved experimenting with solutions of lead salts rather than the platinum salts prevalent at that time.
While in Dresden she learned to speak German, which she spoke fluently for the rest of her life. Upon completion of her scholarship, she returned to Seattle, where she opened a studio, taking portrait photographs of clients in their homes and in natural settings.
Eventually, in 1917, she and her family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where her husband taught art. Although making a living taking portrait photographs, she had maintained her interest in botanical photography. Early examples included both realistic and abstract images of flowers and foliage. Her work was published in photography magazines and exhibited in New York, steadily building her reputation.
Group f.64
This led, in due course, to her association with Group f.64. Imogen Cunningham and two other California-based photographers, Edward Weston and Ansel Adams, are most closely associated with this group. Their objective was to create art purely based on their chosen subject and the composition of their photographs. This differed from the pictorialism of Stieglitz and others who employed artificial effects, such as soft-focus, in an effort to more closely mimic paintings.
Her portraiture led to a long-term engagement with Vanity Fair, photographing celebrities, artists, and political figures. Her personal interests, though, encompassed a much broader scope than just portraiture, extending into both documentary and candid street photography.
I read about her fascinating life and photography in two books from my local library. The first, Group f.64, by Mary Street Alinder, describes the origin of the movement and her relationship with Weston, Adams and other members. The second, Imogen Cunningham: Photographs, with a foreword by Marjory Mann, describes her life and includes many examples of her photography.
Are you familiar with Imogen Cunningham? Were you aware of her chemistry background and contributions to the photography process? What is your favourite example of her work? Let us know in the comments below.
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In 1972, I had the good fortune of meeting Imogen Cunningham at her home in San Francisco.
What a memorable experience.
I cherish the mounted photograph I purchased from her, of an elderly couple she met along the road, on her way to visit August Sander. The photo is in the style of Sander’s “Three Men….”
Hi Jim, thank you for sharing this. I never imagined that anyone reading the article might have actually met her! I was not familiar with Sander, but he himself seems to have been a very important figure in the early days of portrait photography. His birthday is later this year. Feel free to contribute a story about him, and your link with Imogen Cunningham! Cheers, Keith
Hello Keith,
Thanks for the encouragement. Perhaps I could even incorporate photographs I took of Imogen at her home. Her son, a geophysicist, also visited Imogen that day.
How can I contact you to have a conversation about such a project?
Feel free to contact me directly via the email.
Thanks again,
Jim
I will send Keith your email address. Mike
Thank you taking my comment in the spirit it was meant.
I used to write articles for the Australian Photography magazine back in the day and might just take you up on the suggestion to submit articles.
I am very aware of how hard it is to please a wide audience but I might be game to stick my head above the parapet and write something for Macfilos.
All the best, Mark
Please do, Mark. We have a number of regular contributors who started like this. They now enjoy the process and the interaction with readers and other contributors. We are totally non-commercial and all of us enjoy being part of the growing website. And no Mr Amazon to close us down! Mike
Hi,
This is a great article, and very happy personally to see a return to photography articles, after the last three I was wondering if I’d come to the right place.
Please do not take that as a criticism, I’m just a bit narrow in my expectations of this site, to me the last few articles seemed like one of those in-flight magazines stuffed into the pocket of the seat in front of you, of interest to others, just not me.
Thanks, Mark
Mark, thanks for your comment. We do try to cover all bases as much as possible. But this is a hobby and our valued (unpaid) contributors tend to write what interests them. But our rule is that all articles include photographs, usually taken by the author, and with travel reviews being perhaps the most popular. We hope you keep as many people as possible interested. Mike
Thanks Mark! As an author of at least one of those earlier articles you mentioned, it was interesting to hear your perspective. We are fortunate to have an editor who embraces a diversity of photography-based articles. Clearly, some land closer to your area of interest than others. This weeks collection, encompassing Leica gear announcements and reviews, a photographer bio, and an in-flight magazine article on casual dining, is especially diverse! New contributors are always welcome (assuming you have not previously submitted an article. Come join the merry band! Cheers, Keith
Thanks for bringing this artist to our attention! I checked out the book you mentioned; very interesting to chart the course of her work! Some of her earliest work strikes me as reflecting the very stylized dance of that time. After that, very interesting treatment of female nudes, emphasizing more geometric qualities (probably excluded from your article!). In the early 1950’s she was doing what we would call ‘street’. I wonder how she thought of it? And then there’s the portrait of Weston (which you did include) which seems to me strikingly modern.
She had an amazing range of styles and techniques!
Hi Kathy, I am glad to hear the article prompted you to look further into her life and work. I think she was an incredibly impressive person. I enjoyed discovering that she was a chemist – a very special breed! Cheers, Keith
While I don’t have any thoughts on her on this day April 12 1954, BILL HALEY AND THE COMETS, recorded ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK, rocks first number one hit!
Hi John, it seems that every day of the year is an anniversary of a notable event, or the birthday of someone notable. There are even websites out there that specialize in listing them. I found them very useful when hunting for topics for a series of Saturday articles during the month of March. Cheers, Keith