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Archives of American Art
A Finding Aid to the Imogen Cunningham Papers, 1903-1991, in the Archives of American Art
Summary
- Collection ID:
- AAA.cunnimog
- Creators:
-
Cunningham, Imogen, 1883-1976
- Dates:
-
1903-1991
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
5.9 Linear feet
- Repository:
The papers of photographer and teacher Imogen Cunningham, date from 1903 to 1991. The collection measures 5.9 feet of material, including correspondence, business and financial records, writings, printed matter, and photographs, and provides a good overview of Cunningham's life and career.
Scope and Content Note
Scope and Content Note
The papers of photographer and teacher Imogen Cunningham, date from 1903 to 1991. The collection measures 5.9 feet of material, including correspondence, business and financial records, writings, printed matter, and photographs, and provides a good overview of Cunningham's life and career. 3.6 linear feet of correspondence comprise the bulk of the collection.
Arrangement
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into ten series according to material type:
- Missing Title
- Series 1: Biographical Material, 1907-1981, undated (box 1; 4 folders)
- Series 2: Correspondence, 1909-1991, undated (boxes 1-4; 3.6 linear feet)
- Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1944-1976 (box 4; 15 folders)
- Series 4: Notes, 1959-1968 (box 4; 10 folders)
- Series 5: Teaching Files, 1964-1971 (box 5; 4 folders)
- Series 6: Writings, circa 1910-1976 (box 5; 21 folders)
- Series 7: Interview Transcripts, 1951, undated (box 5; 2 folders)
- Series 8: Printed Material, 1903-1991 (boxes 5-7; 1.2 linear feet)
- Series 9: Photographs, 1916-1976 (box 7; 12 folders)
- Series 10: Oversized Material, 1947-1948, 1967, undated
Biographical Note
Biographical Note
Born in Portland, Oregon on April 12, 1883, Cunningham's family moved to Seattle in 1889. Inspired by Gertrude Kasebier's work, she purchased her first camera in 1901. After studying chemistry and botany at the University of Washington, she worked for the Edward S. Curtis Studio, Seattle, from 1907 to 1909. Receiving a scholarship, Cunningham studied for a year at the Technische Hochschule, Dresden.
Upon her return to Seattle in 1910, she opened a studio and had the first major exhibition of her work at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences in 1912.
In 1915, Cunningham married printmaker Roi Partridge and gave birth to her first son, Gryffyd. Two years later, her family moved to California, where she gave birth to twin sons, Padraic and Rondal. In 1920, the family moved to Oakland, where her husband taught at Mills College. During the 1920s, she exhibited her art work and began photographing plant forms.
Along with Ansel Adams, John Paul Edwards, Sonya Noskowiak, Henry Swift, Willard Van Dyke, and Edward Weston, Cunningham formed the f/64 Group, a society of purist photographers in 1932. During the same year she began working for Vanity Fair and other magazines and began a career as a portrait photographer, including Martha Graham, Cary Grant, Morris Graves, Alfred Stieglitz, and Spencer Tracy as her subjects. She divorced her husband in 1934.
In 1947, Cunningham established a studio in her San Francisco home, and continued to exhibit extensively until her death on June 24, 1976.
Administration
Author
Jean Fitzgerald
Provenance
The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by Imogen Cunningham in 1974 and 1976, and by her son, Gryffyd Partridge, in 1991.
Alternative Forms Available
The collection is available on 35 mm microfilm reels 5034-5041 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and the finding aid written by Jean Fitzgerald in 1995. The finding aid was modified by Stephanie Ashley in 2001 prior to EAD conversion.
Using the Collection
Restrictions on Access
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Terms of Use
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Preferred Citation
Imogen Cunningham papers, 1903-1991. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Keywords
Archives of American Art
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