Robert Frank
(American/Swiss, 1924–2019)
Biography
Robert Frank is a Swiss-born American filmmaker and photographer. Characterized by their pointed and complex critique of American culture and society, his images often capture people in the throes of daily life. “There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment,” he once explained. “This kind of photography is realism. But realism is not enough—there has to be vision, and the two together can make a good photograph.” Born on November 9, 1924 in Zürich, Switzerland, he began studying photography in 1941, and subsequently worked for commercial studios around Switzerland over the next 6 years. In 1947, Frank emigrated to the United States where he was hired by Alexey Brodovitch to produce fashion photos for Harper’s Bazaar. Over the next five years, he produced work for a number of other publications such as LIFE and Vogue. With the aid of his colleague and mentor, Walker Evans, Frank was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. During his fellowship, he traveled throughout the United States, documenting the wide spectrum of its populace. This journey would form the backbone of his work thereafter, leading to the seminal photobook The Americans(1958). Frank subsequently had solo exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1961 and The Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1962. Since 1970, the artist has split his time between New York, NY and Nova Scotia, Canada. Today, his photographs are held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Kunsthaus Zürich, among others.
Robert Frank Artworks
Robert Frank
(2,119 results)
.jpg "Chicago (Political Rally), 1956")
.jpg "Elevator - Miami Beach (from the series: The , 1955")
Robert Frank
Elevator - Miami Beach (from the series: The , 1955
Sale Date: December 1, 2017
Auction Closed
.jpg "Untitled (Boy at the stairs, USA), 1947")
.jpg "New York (Stencil/Window), 1977")
.jpg "NYC (Cadillac Hearse)")
.jpg "Fishkill, N.Y. (Newburgh), 1955")
.jpg "NEW ORLEANS (TROLLEY), 1955")
English (US)
©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.