About this artwork
An avid nature photographer, Eliot Porter helped to pioneer technologies of color printing and fought to have color photography recognized as art. He trained as a biochemical researcher, but quit his medical career to pursue photography full–time in the 1940s, publishing numerous books and portfolios in partnership with the Sierra Club. For Porter birds embodied the very best of nature’s promise, especially for a photographer. “The camera is an instrument for immediate results, ” he wrote, “and by focusing my attention on the subject it offers a way of sublimating the indefinable longing that is aroused in me by close association with birds.” In 1979 the Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted an exhibition, Intimate Landscapes, to Porter’s work—the museum’s first solo show devoted to color photography.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Photography and Media
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Artist
- Eliot Porter
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Title
- Spotted Towhee
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Place
- United States (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- Made 1941–1964
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Medium
- Dye imbibition print
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Dimensions
- Image/paper: 27.5 × 21.6 cm (10 7/8 × 8 9/16 in.); Mount: 45.7 × 35.5 cm (18 × 14 in.)
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Credit Line
- Purchased with funds provided by Mrs. Mary Morris Diamond
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Reference Number
- 1964.131
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Copyright
- © 1990, Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, Bequest of the artist.
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.
