The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 30, 2026

Hen and Chickens

1929, printed 1973–76
(American, 1883–1976)
Image: 23.8 x 18.7 cm (9 3/8 x 7 3/8 in.); Mounted: 36.8 x 29.2 cm (14 1/2 x 11 1/2 in.); Framed: 41.3 x 36.5 x 1.9 cm (16 1/4 x 14 3/8 x 3/4 in.)
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Hen and chicks is a succulent that propagates by offsets; the “hen” is the main, or mother plant, and the “chicks” are offspring.

Description

Imogen Cunningham aimed her camera directly down at the ground to obtain the sense of allover pattern and asymmetry of Hen and Chickens. That view brings them all the individual elements close to the picture surface in a single plane. Through unmanipulated depictions of plants, Cunningham’s images of flora go beyond botanical detail to suggest abstraction and metaphor.
  • ?–November 1975
    (The Halsted 831 Gallery, Birmingham, MI, sold to Tom Hinson and Diana Tittle)
    November 1975–December 2024
    Tom Hinson and Diana Tittle, New Mexico, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2024–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Hen and Chickens|url=false|author=Imogen Cunningham|year=1929, printed 1973–76|access-date=30 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2024.168