Frederick Sommer
(American/Italian, 1905–1999)
Biography
Frederick Sommer was an Italian-born American artist best known for his unique photography. His experiments with double exposures and striking portrait Livia (1948), are among his most acclaimed works. “When you go out to make a picture you find you are moved by something which is in agreement with an image you already held within yourself,” he once said. Born on September 7, 1905 in Angri, Italy, he raised by German-speaking parents in Brazil. Sommer went on to receive an MA in landscape architecture from Cornell University, and after being diagnosed with tuberculosis moved with his wife to Arizona in 1931. During the next decade, Sommer met Max Ernst, Man Ray, and Dorothea Tanning in Los Angeles, their conversations spurred Sommer’s interest in experimenting with photographic processes. The artist was also friends with more traditional photographers including Edward Weston and Ansel Adams. From 1957 to 1958, Sommer taught photography at the Institute of Design in Chicago, substituting for his friend Harry Callahan. Notably, during his career the artist produced drawings of musical scores and despite not being able to read music himself, his composer friends were able to play from his drawings. Sommer died on April 10, 1999 in Prescott, AZ. Today, his works are held in the collections of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, among others.
Frederick Sommer Artworks
Frederick Sommer
(365 results)
.jpg "Untitled (Painted Desert), 1940")
.jpg "Untitled (Paint on Cellophane), 1957")
.jpg "Untitled (Smoke on Glass), 1962")
.jpg "Untitled (Saguaro, Black Sky), ca. 1940")
.jpg "Untitled (H Kyoto Lumber Yard), ca. 1969")
English (US)
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