The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Black-and-white photograph of a nude man with a medium-light skin tone and without legs, wearing an eye mask with two small holes through which he looks at us, with short black hair and a beard, and his torso resting on a skateboard, knuckles of each hand pressing into the ground to support himself. A white triangle in the background frames his head and shoulders, flanked by draped strips of cloth.

Man without Legs, New York City

1984

Joel-Peter Witkin

(American, 1939-)
America
gelatin silver print
Image: 36.6 x 37.9 cm (14 7/16 x 14 15/16 in.); Paper: 50.4 x 40.6 cm (19 13/16 x 16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.)
Gift of Museum members in 1989 1989.471
Location: Not on view

Description

For almost four decades, Witkin has staged and photographed bizarre scenes, often incorporating people with physical deformities and severed limbs. Referring to art history and classical mythology, he manipulates his prints to create the rich surface quality usually acquired through age. Although Witkin’s photographs focus on disenfranchised members of society, they also reveal the humanity of his subjects.
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 398
  • Portraiture: American Photography 1960 to the Present. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 1-September 13, 2009).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (06/01/2009 - 09/13/2009); "Portraiture: American Photography 1960 to the Present"
    CMA, November 20,1996 - February 2, 1997: "Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art," no catalogue
    Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 24, 1996-February 2, 1997).
    CMA, Feb. 6 - April 15, 1990: "Year in Review 1989," CMA Bulletin, 77 (Feb. 1990), p. 72, no. 132 (not exhibited).
  • {{cite web|title=Man without Legs, New York City|url=false|author=Joel-Peter Witkin|year=1984|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1989.471