Barbara Morgan

(American, 1900–1992)

Barbara Morgan was an American photographer who captured images of professional dancers during their performances. Interested in the visual power of gesture, Morgan froze these ephemeral moments to heighten their symbolic significance. “Primarily, I am after that instant of combustion, when all the energies of the spirit are wonderfully coordinated with the action of the body,” she once said. Born on July 8, 1900 in Buffalo, KS, she moved with her family to Southern California as a child. Morgan went on study painting at the University of California, Los Angeles before moving to New York in 1930. In the city, she was exposed to the photography of Edward Weston and the dance performances of Martha Graham. These two new interests mingled to lead Morgan towards her photography project documenting at least 40 established dancers and choreographers, including Merce Cunningham. The artist also spent time traveling the Southwest, where she documented Navajo and Pueblo Indians dance rituals with watercolors, prints, and photographs. Morgan died on August 17, 1992 in Sleepy Hollow, NY. Today, her works are held in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, among others.