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Sander's Children

Figurative Photography in the Tradition of August Sander.

December 3, 2008 – January 17, 2009

August Sander Forester's Child, Westerwald.  1931
August Sander Young Farmers.  1914
August Sander Painter (Anton Raderscheidt). 1926
August Sander Girl in a Fairground Caravan.  c. 1930
August Sander Country Girls. 1925
Rineke Dijkstra Ponteland High School, Newcastle U.K.  2000
Diane Arbus Lady at a masked ball with two roses on her dress.  N.Y.C.  1967
Diane Arbus Man at a parade on Fifth Avenue.  N.YC.  1969
Lolo Veleko PHUMEZA, 2006
Lolo Veleko Thulani.  2003
Lolo Veleko Cindy and Nkuli.  2004
Richard Avedon Bob Dylan.  New York City.  1965
Milton Rogovin Untitled – from the Lower West Side 1969 – 1973
Milton Rogovin Untitled – from the Lower West Side 1969 – 1973
Milton Rogovin Untitled – from the Lower West Side 1969 – 1973
Milton Rogovin Untitled – from the Lower West Side 1969 – 1973
Albrecht Tubke From the series "Citizens." London.  2000
Albrecht Tubke From the series "Citizens."  London.  2001
Albrecht Tubke From the series "Twins".  2001
The Sartorialist 6 pictures taken between March and November 2008
William Eggleston Untitled. 1974
Hiroh Kikai An older man with a penetrating gaze.  2001
Hiroh Kikai Celebrating Shichi-go-san, a gala day for girls at ages three and seven.  2001
Irving Penn Cleaning Women, London.  1950
Irving Penn Lorry Washers, London.  1950
Irving Penn Plumber, New York City.  1950
Seydou Keita Fashionable Men.  Mali.  C. 1955
Seydou Keita

Press Release

The exhibition "Sander's Children" looks at the significant and acknowledged influence August Sander has had on many photographers. Most active from 1914 to 1930, Sander's cool, objective style of portraiture anticipated work ranging from Irving Penn's "Small Trades" series to Richard Avedon's outdoor portraits and has continued to influence photographers to this day.

Sander's credo was simple: "I am not concerned with providing commonplace photographs like those made in the finer large-scale studios of the city, but simple, natural portraits that show the subjects in an environment corresponding to their own individuality."

Sander's monumental photographic project "Man of the Twentieth Century" sought to document the people and typologies of his native Westerwald. He photographed people from all walks of life and became best known for the straightforward full length portraits that recorded his subjects not only with great objectivity but also with a subtle artfulness and psychological depth that has made them the definitive template of what a photographic portrait should be.

The exhibition "Sander's Children" presents work by a selection of photographers who without exception can all recall how Sander's images were a formative influence on their style. Yet each photographer in the show has been able to create their own remarkably distinct style within this tradition. Taken over a period of six decades following Sander's active life as a photographer, the images are both a testament to the enduring legacy of Sander's seminal work and the robustness and extraordinary capacity for renewal of the medium.