Description:
Francesca Woodman (American, 1958-1981)
House #3, Providence, 1975-76, printed later. Signed by George and Betty Woodman in pencil and with the estate's "PE/FW" hand stamp on the verso at bottom, numbered, titled, and dated "4/40..." in pencil on the verso at bottom. Gelatin silver print, image size 6 x 6 in. (15.2 x 15.2 cm),framed.
Condition: Minor handling crease l.r.
Provenance: Collection of Bernard Toale and Joseph Zina, Boston, Massachusetts.
N.B. As a student at the Rhode Island School of Design in the late 1970s, Francesca Woodman created a unique body of photographic work that explored and reinterpreted the genres of self-portraiture and the female form. Favoring decaying and decrepit interiors such as the house in Providence depicted here, Woodman's dematerialized form appears to merge with the wall, a visual effect reminiscent of a painting by Nabi artist Édouard Vuillard. As evidenced in her mysterious and evocative images, while aware of the feminist discourses of her time, Woodman "approached female selfhood and sexuality from a deeply personal-rather than political or programmatic-point of view" [Corey Keller, ed., Francesca Woodman (San Francisco: San Francisco Museum of Art in association with Distributed Arts Publishing, 2011),169]. Although she committed suicide in 1981 at the young age of twenty-two, Woodman's work has been hugely influential on subsequent generations of photographers and was reconsidered in a 2011-2012 retrospective organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art that traveled to the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
Estimate $4,000-6,000
Sheet measures 10 x 8 in. (25.5 x 20.4 cm). The handling crease is primarily in the margin. No additional issues to report.
The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging. Condition requests can be obtained via email (lot inquiry button) or by telephone to the appropriate gallery location (Boston/617.350.5400 or Marlborough/508.970.3000). Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Skinner Inc. shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.
Keywords
Bernard Toale, Corey Keller, Joseph Zina, George WoodmanRobin S.R. Starr
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American & European Works of Art
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