Snapshots of the Past

Abstraction – Historic Print

Abstraction — historic photograph
Abstraction. Historic photograph from the Historic Print Archive collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This historic photograph of Abstraction brings a moment of history to your wall. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.

The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. A conversation-starting piece for home, office, or as a meaningful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past, founded in 2001, has served tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

Abstraction

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This small platinum print, measuring about 4 5/8 by 3 5/8 inches, is dated 1921 and titled *Abstraction*, so it asks to be read for its shapes and tones rather than for a recognizable scene. Platinum printing was prized for its soft gradations and matte, velvety surface, and photographers who worked with it often favored it for artistic rather than documentary pictures. In the years after the First World War, the expense and scarcity of platinum paper made the process less common, which gives prints like this one a particular rarity. The early 1920s also saw many photographers experiment with form and pattern, drawing on modern painting, and this small image reflects that wider interest in pure design.

Medium1 photographic print : platinum ; 11.7 x 9.3 cm. (4 5/8 x 3 5/8 in.).
GenreJr.
Notes1921
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,187 × 1,536 px · prints to 4 × 5 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-142991

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