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Walker Warehouse

A work made of gelatin silver print.
© Aaron Siskind Foundation.

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  • A work made of gelatin silver print.

Date:

1953

Artist:

Aaron Siskind
American, 1903–1991

About this artwork

As a member of New York’s Photo League in the 1930s, Aaron Siskind led classes that produced social documentary projects. During those years, he also created photographic studies of vernacular architecture on Martha’s Vineyard and in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. When he began teaching at the Institute of Design in 1951, he was thus perfectly suited to lead the Sullivan Project with a group of students, among them Richard Nickel (see related photographs on view nearby). The project aimed to comprehensively document buildings designed by the early 20th-century architect Louis Sullivan that were slated for demolition to make way for urban renewal projects. This photograph shows the Walker Warehouse, completed in 1889, just as it was being torn down. Like many of Siskind’s images, this one focuses on Sullivan’s elegant use of ornament even in utilitarian structures.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Photography and Media

Artist

Aaron Siskind

Title

Walker Warehouse

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.

Made 1953

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Dimensions

25.6 × 32.9 cm (10 1/8 × 13 in.)

Credit Line

Photography and Media Purchase Fund

Reference Number

1976.224

Copyright

© Aaron Siskind Foundation.

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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