{"data":{"id":"16783","type":"artist","attributes":{"id":16783,"topgoose_id":2685,"tms_id":16783,"display_name":"Imogen Cunningham","sort_name":"Cunningham Imogen","display_date":"1883–1976","begin_date":"1883","end_date":"1976","biography":"\u003cp\u003eRecognized as one of the most significant American photographers of the twentieth century, Imogen Cunningham was a pioneer of modernist imagery and technique, producing many of the groundbreaking photographs that helped redefine photography as fine art. She was a key figure in the circle of West Coast photographers— including \u003ca href=\"/artists/13365\"\u003eDorothea Lange\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"/artists/4032\"\u003eEdward Weston\u003c/a\u003e, and, later, \u003ca href=\"/artists/7722\"\u003eAnsel Adams\u003c/a\u003e—who broke away from the painterly, soft-focused style of Pictorialism to create a straightforward, modern aesthetic. Cunningham became renowned in the 1920s for her sharp-focused close-ups of isolated botanical subjects and nudes. The photographs are notable for their contrasting darks and lights, close cropping, abstract composition, and crisp details, imbuing simple subjects with a sense of monumentality.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1932 she joined Adams and other\nphotographers from the San Francisco\nBay Area to form “Group f.64,” which was\ncommitted to using the unique properties\nof the camera to capture images from\nthe world with directness and clarity.\nCunningham’s experiments with double\nexposure, a mainstay of her long\nand distinguished career, include many\ndepictions of artists and musicians.\u003ca href=\"/collection/works/46369\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003cem\u003eMartha Graham 2\u003c/em\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/a\u003ewas created in-camera during a 1931 outdoor photo shoot in Santa Barbara with the famous dancer. The technique involves exposing two different images onto the same frame of film. Two of the ninety photographs shot by Cunningham at that extraordinary session appeared in the December 1931 issue of the original \u003cem\u003eVanity Fair\u003c/em\u003e, initiating\nher freelance work with the magazine,\nwhich continued until publication temporarily\nceased in 1936. Cunningham would make\ninnovative pictures (including the first\nknown photographs of a nude, pregnant\nwoman) for another four decades, until\nshortly before her death at age ninety-three.\u003c/p\u003e","on_view":false,"artport":false,"biennial":false,"collection":true,"ulan_id":"500115187","wikidata_id":"Q238678","created_at":"2017-08-30T17:32:41.000-04:00","updated_at":"2026-03-30T07:05:16.672-04:00","links":{"artworks":"/api/artists/16783/artworks","exhibitions":"/api/artists/16783/exhibitions"}}}}