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photographs by

Imogen Cunningham and Rondal Partridge

Agave Design 1, 1920s by Imogen Cunningham

exhibition -- December 3 - 28, 2013

at the Emerald Art Center in Springfield

Pave it and Paint it Green, Yosemite National Park, mid 1960s
by Rondal Partridge


Alfred Stieglitz, photographer, 1934
by Imogen Cunningham

Imogen Cunningham (1883 - 1976)

Imogen Cunningham is known as one of the greatest American photographers. In 1901, at age 18, she sent away $15 for her first camera and began the longest photographic career in the history of the medium.

In the 1920s, Cunningham turned her attention to the nude and to native plant forms in her backyard garden. The result was a body of work comprised of bold, contemporary forms. Her formal floral images became her most acclaimed photographs.

Cunningham's artistic legacy was secured though her inclusion in the "F64" show in San Francisco in 1932. She established the Imogen Cunningham Trust to manage her archives after her death. The Trust provides estate stamped prints for exhibition and sale. The photographs included in this exhibition were printed by her son, Rondal Partridge.

Imogen Cunningham web site

Imogen Cunningham photographs:

1915partridge 1920smagnolia-var 1922brett-w
1923mather-weston 1925cotyledon 1925tower
1929rubber 1936father 1957bed
1957merce-c 1959white 1968phoenix


Rondal Partridge (b. 1917)

The son of Imogen Cunningham, Partridge began helping his mother in the darkroom at age five. At 17, he became Dorothea Lange's apprentice, driving her up and down the back roads of California as she made images of migrant laborers. In 1937 and 1938, he worked with Ansel Adams in Yosemite, taking the now-famous photograph Ansel in the High Sierras, late 1930s.

Associated with the great California photographers of his time, Partridge absorbed the techniques his teachers gave him. For 70 years, he has been a professional photographer, making portraits, environmental statements, architectural images, and moments of California history. He lives in Berkeley, California.

Rondal Partridge web site

Rondal Partridge photographs:

1940madonna 1953meg 1988hands


exhibit poster

gallery talk and reception

gallery talk by Meg Partridge -- Thursday, December 12, 6 pm

the daughter of Rondal Partridge and granddaughter of Imogen Cunningham,
Meg Partridge is director of the Imogen Cunningham Trust

Second Friday Artwalk reception -- December 13, 5-8 pm


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