Skip to Content
Today Open today 10–11 members | 11–5 public

Family and Filmstrips

A work made of gelatin silver print.

Image actions

  • A work made of gelatin silver print.

Date:

1950/55

Artist:

Ed Van Der Elsken
Dutch, 1925–1990

About this artwork

Heavily influenced by the sensationalist work of the American photographer Weegee, the Dutch photographer Ed van der Elsken found fame as a chronicler of exuberant street life in Paris and Amsterdam. In this photograph, the artist’s first wife and fellow photographer, Ata Kando, relaxes with her children in a corner of their cramped Parisian apartment. Multiple layers of looking—including the children’s focus on the photobook and the viewer’s gaze through translucent photo negatives hung from the ceiling to dry—evoke the voyeurism that marks much of Van der Elsken’s work. At the same time, the photograph is infused, like nearly all his images, with an intimate, romantic sensibility that betrays the artist’s deep personal engagement with his subjects.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Photography and Media

Artist

Ed Van Der Elsken

Title

Family and Filmstrips

Place

Netherlands (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1950–1955

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Dimensions

Image/paper: 27.2 × 39.6 cm (10 3/4 × 15 5/8 in.); Mount: 45.8 × 55.9 cm (18 1/16 × 22 1/16 in.)

Credit Line

Peabody Fund

Reference Number

1957.210

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share