The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 19, 2024
'NEHI' Billboard in a Field
1929
(American, 1899–1986)
Image: 24 x 19 cm (9 7/16 x 7 1/2 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 2001.6
© Estate of Ralph Steiner
Location: not on view
Description
Steiner’s photograph of a billboard isolated in a landscape is an iconic image in the long career of this Cleveland-born photographer and documentary filmmaker. For about a decade, beginning in the late 1910s, his interest shifted from atmospheric, softly focused images— primarily landscapes—to commonplace objects and scenes taken in a straightforward technique that emphasizes geometric forms. In 1929, the year this photograph was created, Steiner spent the summer and early fall refining his technical skills, working on the clarity of his negatives and the quality of the resulting prints. This inventive composition combines his interest in the unspoiled landscape with the transforming impact of advertising on American life. Characteristic of his best work, the image joins abstract form, texture, and patterns of light and shadow. Steiner’s pioneering early work was an inspiration to numerous photographers active in the 1930s, including Walker Evans.- Cleveland Museum of Art, “Recent Acquisitions Press Release,” April 4, 2001, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
- Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 24-September 16, 2007); Frick Art and Historical Center, Pittsburgh, PA (October 3, 2009-January 3, 2010).The Cleveland Museum of Art (6/24/07 - 9/16/07) and the Frick Art and Historical Center, Pittburgh, PA (10/3/2009 - 1/3/2010); "Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art", no exhibition catalogue.
- {{cite web|title='NEHI' Billboard in a Field|url=false|author=Ralph Steiner|year=1929|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2001.6