Skip to Content
Closed now, next open Thursday. Closed now, next open Thursday.

The Court, New York

A work made of gelatin silver print.
© Paul Strand Archive/Aperture Foundation

Image actions

  • A work made of gelatin silver print.

Date:

1924

Artist:

Paul Strand
American, 1890–1976

About this artwork

Here Paul Strand reacted against an earlier trend in photography to imitate painting so photography would be more readily recognized as a fine art. Strand promoted what came to be known as straight photography, made (as he put it) “without tricks of process or manipulation.” In the years shortly before he made this image, Strand began experimenting with abstraction; acquired an 8 × 10–inch camera, and produced a film, Manhatta (1920–21); with artist Charles Sheeler. Such activities are reflected in this photograph, in which Strand angled his large-format camera downward to capture the geometric forms of the rooftops in striking detail. The angle echoes a scene from his own film that depicted the urban bustle of lower Manhattan.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Photography and Media

Artist

Paul Strand

Title

The Court, New York

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 1924

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Inscriptions

Unmarked recto; unchecked verso

Dimensions

Image/paper: 24.5 × 19.4 cm (9 11/16 × 7 11/16 in.); Mount: 45.4 × 35.2 cm (17 7/8 × 13 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Ada Turnbull Hertle Fund

Reference Number

1980.66

Copyright

© Paul Strand Archive/Aperture 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.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share