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Nancy Newhall

March 04, 2023

Nancy Wynne Newhall (May 9, 1908 – July 7, 1974) was an American photography critic. She is best known for writing the text to accompany photographs by Ansel Adams and Edward Weston, but was also a widely published writer on photography, conservation, and American culture.[1]

Nancy Newhall
Nancy Newhall 1942, photo by Barbara Morgan.
Born
Nancy Wynne

(1908-05-09)May 9, 1908
Lynn, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedJuly 7, 1974(1974-07-07) (aged 66)
Jackson Hole, Wyoming, U.S.
Occupation(s)Art critic, museum professional
Known forfine art photography

Biography

Newhall was born Nancy Wynne in Lynn, Massachusetts, and attended Smith College in that state. She married Beaumont Newhall, the curator of photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and substituted for him in that role during his military service in World War II. During the 1940s she wrote essays on popular art and culture for small magazines and journals, in which she called for a society more attuned to art, and particularly to visual art. Newhall was always more interested in a popular audience than an academic one; in a 1940 essay, she explores the possibilities of the new medium of television for popularizing the visual arts, suggesting techniques for teaching art and photography on camera:

.. . the cameras should approach an object as an actual spectator does, and, like him, be influenced by empathy. Long shots become closeups, the flow of compositional directions, and, with due care for the results on the screen, studies of detail and texture under dramatic lighting, are all ways of lending motion to motionless things.[2]

In another, she argues for the centrality of photography for understanding and teaching American history ("Research"). Newhall became close to photographer Edward Weston during this period, championing his early work and regarding his controversial 1940s work, which juxtaposed still lifes and nudes of considerable beauty and delicacy with wartime items such as gas masks, with some anxiety.

In 1945, Newhall wrote the text for a book of photographs, Time in New England, by Paul Strand. The work would begin a new phase for her career, in which she became a vocal proponent and a central pioneer of the genre of oversized photography collections. The best known and most influential of these is This Is the American Earth, a collaboration with Ansel Adams, published in 1960. Like Adams, Newhall was involved with the Sierra Club, and wrote often about issues of conservation. Newhall was sometimes accused of political heavy-handedness on that subject—one uncharitable review of American Earth calls her prose "so full of Message that there is no room for poetry" (Deevey)—but her explication of the political context and motivation of Adams' work has been important for the Sierra Club and the conservation movement in general.

Nancy and Beaumont spent three summers at Black Mountain College beginning in 1946. In addition to lecturing and teaching, the Newhalls photographed the college campus and its people, taking portraits of Leo Amino, Ilya Bolotowsky, Gwendolyn Knight, Jacob Lawrence, and Buckminster Fuller's venetian-blind experiment.[3] Some of Nancy and Beaumont Newhall's work is archived at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona and at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, California. Nancy Newhall's photography has been the subject of an exhibition in its own right.[4]

She died on July 7, 1974 at St. Johns Hospital in Jackson Hole, Wyoming from injuries received in an accident which occurred on the Snake River of Grand Teton National Park.[5]

Major books

  • Photographs, 1915-1945: Paul Strand. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1945.
  • The Photographs of Edward Weston. Edward Weston and Nancy Newhall, Museum of Modern Art, NY 1946.
  • Time in New England: Photographs by Paul Strand. New York: Aperture, 1950. Reprinted New York: Harper and Row, 1980.
  • A Contribution to the Heritage of Every American: The Conservation Activities of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. New York: Knopf, 1957.
  • (with Beaumont Newhall) Masters of Photography. New York: Braziller, 1958.
  • (with Ansel Adams)This Is the American Earth. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1960.
  • Words of the Earth, photographs by Cedric Wright. Sierra Club Books, 1960
  • Alvin Langdon Coburn: A Portfolio of Sixteen Photographs. Rochester: George Eastman House, 1963.
  • Edward Weston, Photographer: The Flame of Recognition: His Photographs, Accompanied by Excerpts from the Daybooks & Letters, Edward Weston and Nancy Newhall, Published by Aperture, Inc. NY, 1968.
  • The Daybooks of Edward Weston, by Edward Weston, edited by Nancy Newhall, v. 1. Mexico.--v. 2. California, Millerton, N.Y., Aperture, 1973.
  • Ansel Adams. Sierra Club, 1964. Reprinted (with photographs) as Ansel Adams: The Eloquent Light. New York: Aperture, 1980.
  • (with Beaumont Newhall) T. H. O’Sullivan: Photographer. Eastman, 1966.
  • (with Ansel Adams)Fiat Lux: The University of California. New York: McGraw Hill, 1967.
  • P. H. Emerson: The Fight for Photography as a Fine Art. Aperture, 1975.

References

  1. ^ Sternberger, Paul (2003). "Reflections on Edward Weston's Civilian Defense". American Art. 17 (1): 48–67. doi:10.1086/444682. S2CID 192144555.
  2. ^ Newhall, Nancy (January 1940). "Television and the Arts". Parnassas. 12: 37–38. doi:10.2307/772164. JSTOR 772164.
  3. ^ Katz, Vincent (2013). Black Mountain College: Experiment in Art. The MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-51845-1.
  4. ^ Museum of Photographic Arts. Nancy Newhall: A Literacy of Images. Museum of Photographic Arts. pp. 44–63.
  5. ^ Edkins, Diana E. (1976). "A Tribute to Nancy Newhall". Untitled: Quarterly of the Friends of Photography. 10: 5.

Sources

  • Deevey, Edward S. Review of This is the American Earth. Science, Vol. 132, No. 3441 (1960), 1759.
  • Fuller, Patricia G. (March 1975). (PDF). Image. Rochester, N.Y.: International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House Inc. 18 (1): 1–5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-22.
  • Klochko, Deborah, Merry Foresta, MaLin Wilson, et al. Nancy Newhall: A Literacy of Images, San Diego, Calif.: Museum of Photographic Arts, 2008.
  • Newhall, Nancy. "The Need for Research in Photography." College Art Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4 (1945), 203-206.
  • —. "Television and the Arts." Parnassus, Vol. 12, No. 1 (1940), 37-38.
  • Sternberger, Paul. "Reflections on Edward Weston's 'Civilian Defense.'" American Art, Vol. 17, No. 1 (2003), 48-67.

External links

March 04, 2023
nancy, newhall, nancy, wynne, newhall, 1908, july, 1974, american, photography, critic, best, known, writing, text, accompany, photographs, ansel, adams, edward, weston, also, widely, published, writer, photography, conservation, american, culture, 1942, photo. Nancy Wynne Newhall May 9 1908 July 7 1974 was an American photography critic She is best known for writing the text to accompany photographs by Ansel Adams and Edward Weston but was also a widely published writer on photography conservation and American culture 1 Nancy NewhallNancy Newhall 1942 photo by Barbara Morgan BornNancy Wynne 1908 05 09 May 9 1908Lynn Massachusetts U S DiedJuly 7 1974 1974 07 07 aged 66 Jackson Hole Wyoming U S Occupation s Art critic museum professionalKnown forfine art photography Contents 1 Biography 2 Major books 3 References 4 Sources 5 External linksBiography EditNewhall was born Nancy Wynne in Lynn Massachusetts and attended Smith College in that state She married Beaumont Newhall the curator of photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and substituted for him in that role during his military service in World War II During the 1940s she wrote essays on popular art and culture for small magazines and journals in which she called for a society more attuned to art and particularly to visual art Newhall was always more interested in a popular audience than an academic one in a 1940 essay she explores the possibilities of the new medium of television for popularizing the visual arts suggesting techniques for teaching art and photography on camera the cameras should approach an object as an actual spectator does and like him be influenced by empathy Long shots become closeups the flow of compositional directions and with due care for the results on the screen studies of detail and texture under dramatic lighting are all ways of lending motion to motionless things 2 In another she argues for the centrality of photography for understanding and teaching American history Research Newhall became close to photographer Edward Weston during this period championing his early work and regarding his controversial 1940s work which juxtaposed still lifes and nudes of considerable beauty and delicacy with wartime items such as gas masks with some anxiety In 1945 Newhall wrote the text for a book of photographs Time in New England by Paul Strand The work would begin a new phase for her career in which she became a vocal proponent and a central pioneer of the genre of oversized photography collections The best known and most influential of these is This Is the American Earth a collaboration with Ansel Adams published in 1960 Like Adams Newhall was involved with the Sierra Club and wrote often about issues of conservation Newhall was sometimes accused of political heavy handedness on that subject one uncharitable review of American Earth calls her prose so full of Message that there is no room for poetry Deevey but her explication of the political context and motivation of Adams work has been important for the Sierra Club and the conservation movement in general Nancy and Beaumont spent three summers at Black Mountain College beginning in 1946 In addition to lecturing and teaching the Newhalls photographed the college campus and its people taking portraits of Leo Amino Ilya Bolotowsky Gwendolyn Knight Jacob Lawrence and Buckminster Fuller s venetian blind experiment 3 Some of Nancy and Beaumont Newhall s work is archived at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson Arizona and at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles California Nancy Newhall s photography has been the subject of an exhibition in its own right 4 She died on July 7 1974 at St Johns Hospital in Jackson Hole Wyoming from injuries received in an accident which occurred on the Snake River of Grand Teton National Park 5 Major books EditPhotographs 1915 1945 Paul Strand New York The Museum of Modern Art 1945 The Photographs of Edward Weston Edward Weston and Nancy Newhall Museum of Modern Art NY 1946 Time in New England Photographs by Paul Strand New York Aperture 1950 Reprinted New York Harper and Row 1980 A Contribution to the Heritage of Every American The Conservation Activities of John D Rockefeller Jr New York Knopf 1957 with Beaumont Newhall Masters of Photography New York Braziller 1958 with Ansel Adams This Is the American Earth San Francisco Sierra Club Books 1960 Words of the Earth photographs by Cedric Wright Sierra Club Books 1960 Alvin Langdon Coburn A Portfolio of Sixteen Photographs Rochester George Eastman House 1963 Edward Weston Photographer The Flame of Recognition His Photographs Accompanied by Excerpts from the Daybooks amp Letters Edward Weston and Nancy Newhall Published by Aperture Inc NY 1968 The Daybooks of Edward Weston by Edward Weston edited by Nancy Newhall v 1 Mexico v 2 California Millerton N Y Aperture 1973 Ansel Adams Sierra Club 1964 Reprinted with photographs as Ansel Adams The Eloquent Light New York Aperture 1980 with Beaumont Newhall T H O Sullivan Photographer Eastman 1966 with Ansel Adams Fiat Lux The University of California New York McGraw Hill 1967 P H Emerson The Fight for Photography as a Fine Art Aperture 1975 References Edit Sternberger Paul 2003 Reflections on Edward Weston s Civilian Defense American Art 17 1 48 67 doi 10 1086 444682 S2CID 192144555 Newhall Nancy January 1940 Television and the Arts Parnassas 12 37 38 doi 10 2307 772164 JSTOR 772164 Katz Vincent 2013 Black Mountain College Experiment in Art The MIT Press ISBN 978 0 262 51845 1 Museum of Photographic Arts Nancy Newhall A Literacy of Images Museum of Photographic Arts pp 44 63 Edkins Diana E 1976 A Tribute to Nancy Newhall Untitled Quarterly of the Friends of Photography 10 5 Sources EditDeevey Edward S Review of This is the American Earth Science Vol 132 No 3441 1960 1759 Fuller Patricia G March 1975 Nancy Newhall 1908 1974 PDF Image Rochester N Y International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House Inc 18 1 1 5 Archived from the original PDF on 2012 10 22 Klochko Deborah Merry Foresta MaLin Wilson et al Nancy Newhall A Literacy of Images San Diego Calif Museum of Photographic Arts 2008 Newhall Nancy The Need for Research in Photography College Art Journal Vol 4 No 4 1945 203 206 Television and the Arts Parnassus Vol 12 No 1 1940 37 38 Sternberger Paul Reflections on Edward Weston s Civilian Defense American Art Vol 17 No 1 2003 48 67 External links EditNancy Newhall Tioga Mine California photo by Ansel Adams Finding Aid for Beaumont and Nancy Newhall papers 1843 1993 at the Getty Research Institute Finding aid for the Beaumont and Nancy Newhall collection 1930 1983 at the Center for Creative Photography University of Arizona Tucson AZ Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nancy Newhall amp oldid 1105440999, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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