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Tattoo Parlor

A work made of gelatin silver print.
© Robert Frank

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  • A work made of gelatin silver print.

Date:

1958

Artist:

Robert Frank
American, born Switzerland, 1924–2019

About this artwork

Widely known as the cover image of the Rolling Stones’1972 album Exile on Main Street, this photograph was likely made not at a tattoo parlor but at Hubert’s Museum and Flea Circus, a popular dime museum near New York City’s Times Square. The central picture in the third row from the top depicts Hezekiah Trambles (or “Congo the Jungle Creep”) and was taken at Hubert’s by another famed photographer, Diane Arbus. The cover art for Exile also included photographs Frank had made on his travels for the celebrated photobook The Americans (1958), paired with shots of the band’s musicians in downtown Los Angeles in 1972. The Stones later enlisted Frank to film their American tour in support of Exile, resulting in the candid but controversial documentary Cocksucker Blues (1972).

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Photography and Media

Artist

Robert Frank

Title

Tattoo Parlor

Place

United States (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.

1951

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Dimensions

Image: 34.9 × 26.1 cm (13 3/4 × 10 5/16 in.); Support: 35.5 × 27.7 cm (14 × 10 15/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Robert Frank

Reference Number

2000.352

Copyright

© Robert Frank

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.

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