Arthur Siegel (American 1913-1978)
St. Vincent Festival, Little Italy, NYC: The boys wait for their hot dots in great anticipation. The boy on the right, rubbing his hands over the frankfurters, is either ready to devour one of them, or is just keeping his hands warm, late 1930s
Vintage ferrotyped gelatin silver print on single-weight paper
Signed in blue ink with typewritten title labels on verso
Print size: 7 ¾ x 9 5/8 inches
Mat size: 14 x 17 inches
Condition: Overall Good/Fair; a few handling marks, visible only under raking light
AS-NYC-02
Retail: $3500
BIO:
Arthur Siegel (American 1913-1978) was a photographer noted for his experimental photography, particularly in color, and for his contributions to photographic education.
Siegel already had 10 years of experience in photography when he received a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology from Wayne State University in Detroit in 1937. That same year he was granted a scholarship to attend the Institute of Design at the Armour Institute (since 1940 the Illinois Institute of Technology) in Chicago, which had recently been founded by László Moholy-Nagy.
His career as a photojournalist began with The New York Times in the late 1930s, and over the years he handled thousands of assignments for major magazines and news services. In 1946, after several years in the U.S. Office of War Information and the U.S. Army Air Corps, he accepted Moholy-Nagy’s invitation to teach and organize a photography workshop at the Institute of Design, becoming head of the photography department.
From 1951 Siegel was involved with experimental techniques. He was a pioneer in exploring the creative possibilities of color photography, using color and its variations in tone to express emotional states. The objects in his photographs were often abstracted, so that color acted as his main expressive component. He exhibited his photographs abroad and in the United States, having two all-color one-man shows at the Art Institute of Chicago and participating in many group shows, among them Edward Steichen’s “Image of America” exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Siegel left the Institute of Design in 1955 so that he could channel all his energies into photojournalism and commercial photography. He edited the book Chicago’s Famous Buildings (1965) and wrote many articles on photography. In 1965 he returned to the institute as a professor, and in 1971 he became the president of the institute. – Britannica
Monographs:
1969: Chicago's famous buildings: a photographic guide to the city's architectural landmarks and other notable buildings
by Siegel, Arthur S. Webster, J. Carson
Articles:
1950: LIFE: Modern Art by a Photographer – Arthur Siegel
Select Collections:
The Art Institute of Chicago
MoMA
The Metropolitan Museum
Museum of Contemporary Photography
New York Public Library
Select Exhibitions:
1941-42: MoMA: “Image of Freedom”
1944: MoMA: “Art in Progress: 15th Anniversary Exhibitions: Photography”
1950: MoMA: “Photographs by 51 Photographers”
1951: MoMA: “Abstraction in Photography”
1958-59: MoMA: “Photographs from the Museum Collection”
2014: MoMA: “A World of Its Own: Photographic Practices in the Studio”
2015: MoMA: “Modern Photographs from the Thomas Walther Collection 1901-1949”
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