Weegee the Famous
Photograph
1963 (photographed), late 1970s (printed)
1963 (photographed), late 1970s (printed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Black and white photograph depicting a tight head-shot style portrait of a man with white hair holding a camera to his right eye. The camera is inscribed with the word 'Zenith' and the man has a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Weegee the Famous (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Gelatin silver print |
| Brief description | Richard Sadler, 'Weegee the Famous', Coventry, 1963, printed late 1970s. Gelatin silver print from a group of three portraits of Weegee given to the V&A by Sadler |
| Physical description | Black and white photograph depicting a tight head-shot style portrait of a man with white hair holding a camera to his right eye. The camera is inscribed with the word 'Zenith' and the man has a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Styles | |
| Marks and inscriptions | Recto:
Bottom left, black ink: ''89'
Bottom right, signed in black ink: 'Richard Sadler' |
| Gallery label |
|
| Credit line | Given by the artist |
| Object history | Given to the museum by Richard Sadler as part of a group of three portraits of Weegee |
| Production | Negatives 1960, prints late 1970's Series Date: 1960 - late 1970s |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Association | |
| Bibliographic reference | Provided by Sadler to the V&A in 2002
Tessa Sidey, late Curator (Fine Art) at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery:
'A portrait that suggests both homage, from one photographer to another, and construct about the photographic vision. Sadler focuses on the face and direct gaze of the famous American photographer Weegee. One eye is open, alert and fixed on the visible world, while the second "framed" eye is the camera itself, Weegee's Zenith. We, the viewers, appear to be the point of study for Weegee at the same time as Sadler is studying his fellow practitioner. Or is this portrait also encapsulating the essential relationship between subject, photographer and viewer? Weegee's eye and the essential prop of his trade are inter-dependent with us in our real space, as is Sadler's; the construct is both finite and infinite.' |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.2879-1995 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | March 31, 2009 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
