Accession Number
1990/2.50

Title
Woman Reading at the Bus Stop in Front of S. Klein on the Square Department Store, Union Square East, New York City

Artist(s)
Walker Evans

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
circa 1929

Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper

Dimensions
7 in x 5 1/4 in (17.78 cm x 13.34 cm);19 3/8 in x 14 3/8 in (49.21 cm x 36.51 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harry H. Lunn, Jr., in Honor of the Centennial of The Michigan Daily

Label copy
Evans’s shots of New Yorkers, unaware that they were being photographed, anticipate the work of Garry Winogrand. This young woman reading at a bus stop on Union Square is such an image. Her absorption in her reading allows Evans to create interplay between the reflections and the mannequin and to frame the scene against the dark background of the window and the doorway.
Carole McNamara, Assistant Director for Collections & Exhibitions
on the occasion of the exhibition New York Observed: The Mythology of the City
(July 13 – September 22, 2003)

Subject matter
A woman stands in front of the S. Klein on the Square department store at Union Square. While she is absorbed in reading a magazine, reflections in the vitrine suggest bustling activity beyond the frame to which she is oblivious. Evans creates an interplay between the reflections and the mannequin and to frame the scene against the dark background of the window and the doorway.

Physical Description
Photograph of a woman reading at a bus stop in front of a department store vitrine.

Primary Object Classification
Photograph

Collection Area
Photography

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Figures
New York City
Transportation
Urban life
department stores
modern and contemporary art
portfolios
reading
storefronts
vitrines (cabinets)
windows
woman
women (female humans)