Photographer (Bill Brandt) America, 20th century

Londoners

Photographer (Bill Brandt)

1973

Nancy Hellebrand

(American, 1944-)

Image: 24.8 x 24.5 cm (9 3/4 x 9 5/8 in.); Paper: 30.3 x 25.3 cm (11 15/16 x 9 15/16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)

Gift of Russ Anderson 1991.299

Location: not on view

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Description

Philadelphia native Nancy Hellebrand, recognized for her portraits of the British working class, was strongly influenced by photographer Bill Brandt (1904-1983), with whom she studied from 1971 to 1973. Brandt's work included social documentation, portraiture, landscape, and nudes. While in Paris during the late 1920s, his association with artists of the Surrealist movement helped shape his sensibilities. Alluding to that movement, Hellebrand made reference to the eye-a recurrent symbol in Surrealist art-by cropping one side of the sitter's face. She emphasized Brandt's surroundings as a means of identifying his artistic and intellectual pursuits. Although positioned at the edge of the image, the sitter's placement at the forefront and Hellebrand's use of intense light and shadow produced a wonderful field of depth. Brandt's somber, isolated, and perhaps introspective appearance is reinforced by the portrait's stark black-and-white tones.