Woman and Boy, Tenancingo

Accession Number
1971/2.126.9

Title
Woman and Boy, Tenancingo

Artist(s)
Paul Strand

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1933, printed

Medium & Support
photogravure on paper

Dimensions
15 3/4 in x 12 3/8 in (40 cm x 31.4 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Philip C. Davis through the Friends of the Museum of Art

Subject matter
In this photograph, a boy stands with right arm akimbo, left arm resting on the corner of a building. A woman sits to the right with her head just below the boy's arm. She holds her left hand near her chin. Both look out of frame to the right. The boy wears a straw sun hat, patterned poncho, and light-colored pants. The woman wears a dark patterned shawl over a light shirt and checkered skirt. ​​Strand used a prism lens to disguise his intentions when photographing his human subjects during his time in Mexico. In order to capture his images of people his lens directed the light at a right angle, while appearing to shoot from the front.

This photograph is from Paul Strand's The Mexican Portfolio published in 1967 by Paul Strand. The portfolio consists of a series of 20 images depicting Mexico's people, architecture, landscape, and churches. It was first published in 1940 under the name Photographs of Mexico, and reprinted under Strand's supervision in 1967 as The Mexican Portfolio.

Physical Description
Portrait of a young boy and woman. The boy stands with his right arm akimbo and his left arm resting on the corner of a building. The woman crouches next to the building, with her head just below the boy's arm.

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
boys
double portraits
geometric patterns
hats
modern and contemporary art
poncho
ponchos
seated
shawl
shawls
sitting
standing
sun hats
trousers
women (female humans)

& Author Notes

All Rights Reserved