Relationships come in many forms and change over time. The nature of being human means forming many different types of bonds over a lifetime. Romantic or personal relationships manifest themselves as lovers, friends, acquaintances, coworkers, or caregivers. Ties That Bind focuses on photography within the Phillips Museum of Art’s permanent collection, highlighting moments in time and capturing a variety of connections.
Inspired by many tumultuous social and political worldwide events, curators Lindsay Marino, Phillips Museum Director and Janie Kreines, Curator of Exhibitions & Engagement reviewed hundreds of photographs identifying images that reflected the wide range of relationships that human beings may experience during their lifetime. From parent and child, professor and student, and observer to activist, they all weave the story of our lives. We may not know what the subjects were thinking or feeling at the time the photograph was taken, however we can examine their body and facial expressions to create a possible narrative.
Interpretation of these images will depend on the feelings and experiences an individual carries with them. Understanding that there are many ways to view an image allows for the insight that we are all unique human beings. In a world where constant, fast paced visual media can feel overwhelming, the Phillips Museum endeavors to be a space for observation and reflection, allowing the viewer to explore their own relationships.
Co-curated by Lindsay Marino, Director and Collections Manager and Janie M. Kreines, Curator of Exhibitions & Engagement at the Phillips Museum of Art at F&M.
Neal Slavin (American, b. 1941)
The Wheelman, Swarthmore, Pa. (from Groups in America portfolio), 1979
Chromogenic print on paper
Gift of Adam and Debbie Rappaport, #TC2020.10.01k
14 x 11”
For the majority of his career, Neal Slavin has specialized in documenting relationships through photography. His series, Groups in America, features some of the little recognized cohorts such as bodybuilders, cemetery maintenance workers, street food vendors, and of course some of the more eccentric groups such as “The Wheelmen.”
Danny Lyon (American, b. 1942)
Bob Zellner, Bernice Reagon, Cordell Reagon, Dottie Miller (Zellner), and Avon Rollins, Danville, Virginia, 1963
Gelatin silver print on paper
Gift of Dr. Stephen J. and Eileen Nicholas, P’20, #TC2019.13.100
11 x 14"
Photographer and activist Danny Lyon started his career taking images for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), by documenting the Civil Rights Movement. In this image, he is capturing The Freedom Singers who would lead groups at sit-ins in song. Freedom singing was a vital part of SNCC’s community organizing tradition. One of the activists stated, “I began to see the music itself as an important organizing tool, not only to bring [people] together but also as an organizational glue to hold them together.” Lyon went on to document many of the most historic moments of the movement, including many images of Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis. A hallmark of his photography is that Lyon immerses himself in the groups he is documenting.
Larry Clark (American, b. 1943)
RFG Publishing, Inc. (American Publisher, 20th Century)
[Billy Mann with daughter], Tulsa Portfolio #23, 1963
Gelatin silver print on paper; printed 1980
Gift of Howard L. Ganek, P’85, #5005
11 x 14”
Photographer, filmmaker, and writer Larry Clark is well known for his depictions of adolescents engaging in drug use, sex, and violence. He directed the 1995 film, Kids, documenting the experiences of teens in New York “...characterized as hedonists, who engage in sexual acts and substance abuse, over the course of a single day.”
This photograph of a man with his daughter is part of a series titled Tulsa photographed in Oklahoma, where Larry Clark was born and raised, between 1963 and 1971. Clark describes this body of work as “autobiographical” and a “visual anthropology” that blurred the lines between participant and observer. While difficult to see the subjects so exposed in this series, Clark’s photographs communicate a sense of humanity, reflection, and recklessness.
Jacques Lowe (German, active in United States, 1930–2001)
Woman playing with dogs and feeding cats in the kitchen, France, c.1965
Gelatin silver print on paper
Gift of Dr. Stephen J. and Eileen Nicholas, P'20, #TC2021.13.147
14 x 11”
In this image, Jacques Lowe, famed presidential photographer for John F. Kennedy, captures the joy of a woman dancing with her pets in her French kitchen. Following the assassination of both John and Robert Kennedy, Lowe returned to Europe and began photographing for art’s sake rather than for journalistic purposes. Lowe’s archive was stored in the Twin Towers and the majority was destroyed in 9/11. His estate and family have since been painstakingly preserving the negatives and images that remain.
William Castellana (American, b. 1968)
[Two men crossing street; Lee Ave, Brooklyn, NY], 2013–2014
Inkjet print; printed on January 3, 2018
Gift of Linda Montanez, #TC2018.03.02
9 1/4 x 14”
William Castellana created a series of photographs documenting people and place, specifically Satmars, a sect of Hasidic Jews living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. For one year he photographed his neighbors despite limited access to the personal and inner workings of their religious community. His outsider perspective documented the “neighborhood view” of this group.
“This sect of Hasidic Jews was founded in Satu Mare, Romania by Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum in the early 20th century. After WWII, Teitelbaum settled in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to lay the groundwork for a religious ideology that would launch one of the largest Hasidic movements in the world. Since Teitelbaum's death, the Satmar community has grown exponentially and continues to thrive economically and spiritually through closely observed traditions and social mechanisms.” - Castellana
“For me, street photography is about the preservation of time and place - a kind of poetry that distills both in equal measure.” - Castellana
If you would like to see your photo in the gallery, submit one here!
Arthur Rothstein (American,1915–1985)
Mr. and Mrs. Andy Bahain on their farm near Kersey, Colorado 1939
Gelatin silver print on paper (printed at a later date)
Gift of Dr. Stephen J. and Eileen Nicholas, P’20, #AR-475.2
8 1/2 x 7 1/4”
The Farm Security Administration (FSA) was a New Deal agency created in 1937 to combat rural poverty during the Great Depression in the United States. The FSA stressed “rural rehabilitation” efforts to improve the lifestyle of very poor landowning farmers. The FSA loaned money to tenant farmers at low interest rates. The loan program was the main effort of the agency and thousands of tenant farmers were able to stay on the land because of them. Arthur Rothstein was one of the first FSA photographers who documented the nation’s dust bowl, cattle ranches, and other tenant farming. Later he would photograph the Gee’s Bend community in Alabama and following WWII became the chief photographer for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.
Paul McGuirk (American, b. ?)
[Line of uniformed men standing in street; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania], 1976
Gelatin silver print on paper
Gift of Mark and Fran Hirschman, #TC2017.32.17
8 x 10”
Paul McGuirk lives in Redding, Connecticut with his wife Megan Lane. McGuirk describes his photographs as wordless stories focusing on cultural issues like homelessness and poverty, while also finding humor and magnificence throughout the human experience.
McGuirk states "Visual relationships can reveal conditions of a culture and this is optimally achieved through photographs. At times the appearance of someone or something in a photograph will make me laugh but upon closer examination I am exposing a more serious issue. I hope people will come away from my photographs inspired to look more intently at what goes on around them, to see the miracles and the madness that surrounds us each and every day."
McGuirk’s sense of whimsy and juxtaposition is shown in this photograph documenting a bicentennial parade in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Jay Valentine (American?, 20th Century)
[Walker Reunion in Pike County, Ohio], c. 1975
Sepia toned, digital print on paper
Gift of Bill Hutson, #EC1441
9 3/4 x 8 7/8”
The Phillips Museum of Art staff members are continuing to conduct research on this photograph. They are currently working with the Pike County Historical Society in Ohio to uncover the people that were captured in this photograph. The Historical Society posted the photograph on their social media outlets and have connected with members of the family that knew some of the attendees at the reunion that year. This is an exciting step in the process of discovering more about this artist’s work and accentuates the importance and lasting impression of relationships. This one photograph, taken almost fifty years ago, was able to connect with people throughout the Pike County community in the attempt to identify the subjects. It brought up many fond memories of people, places, and events. It’s incredible what one photograph can do. We will update the label with more information as soon as possible.
Henry Horenstein (American, b. 1947)
Grandmother and Grandfather at Home, Temple Hills, Maryland, 1997
Gelatin silver print on paper
Gift of Dr. Stephen J. and Eileen Nicholas, P'20, #TC2019.13.96
16 x 20”
In collaboration with journalist Leslie Tucker, photographer Henry Horenstein partnered on a project to document the Proctor Family of southeast Maryland, also known as the Wesorts clan (We sorts are different from you sorts). This group of people come from a community in which the majority of inhabitants are of tri-racial descent, stemming from intermarriages over centuries between Native Americans, African Americans, and white people. The project started as a genealogical search for a family whose roots stretched back to the founding of the first Catholic colony, and ended up documenting the last descendants of this family line.
Gordon Coster (American, 1903–1988)
[Children watching demonstration in street, Chicago], c. 1930
Gelatin silver print on paper
Gift of Dr. Stephen J. and Eileen Nicholas, P'20, #TC2021.13.52
9 1/2 x 7 3/8”
Gordon Coster started his career in photography in the 1920s in Baltimore, Maryland, taking photographs for department store advertisements. He continued his photo-illustration path with the prestigious Underwood & Underwood studio in New York. In 1936 he opened his own studio in Chicago, working with the Marshall Field Company and other large institutions. Coster eventually shifted his career path to documentary photography and worked with magazines such as LIFE , Freelance, Ladies Home Journal, and Time.
This photograph reflects his personal interest in documenting labor strife and civil rights issues that were taking place in the 1930s–1960s. This protest was most likely part of the “Unemployed Movement” that took place in Chicago in the early 1930s. Coster went on to photograph American life in the Midwest, the impact of World War II on the homefront, and lectured at the Institute of Design in Chicago before retiring in 1982. He stopped taking photographs professionally in 1964 but he left a lasting impression on the field of photography.
Leonard Freed (American,1929–2006)
[Brick Lane], 1973
Gelatin silver print on paper
Gift of Dr. Stephen J. and Eileen Nicholas, P’20, #TC2019.13.119
8 x 10"
The historic “Brick Lane” is a street that dates back hundreds of years in England and originally named for the brick kilns brought with Flemish settlers. This area has been home to many Bengali immigrants who helped shape migration to Britain. Now, visitors can find many curry houses and markets along Brick Lane. Freed, a native New Yorker took a series of images in the early 1970s documenting lives of different communities in London. His caption surrounding this image is, “Some marriages on Brick Lane are still arranged on the strict basis of financial support: here a 64-year-old man accepted a young girl from his native village as a wife to ensure her family’s survival in Bangladesh. London, England.”
Erika Stone (American, b. 1924)
Poor Children, Atlanta, Georgia, 1970s
Gelatin silver print on paper
Gift of Dr. Stephen J. and Eileen Nicholas, P'20, #TC2022.09.181
9 1/4 x 7 1/2”
Photographer Erika Stone was born in Germany in 1924 and was raised in a low income family that struggled financially throughout her childhood. She references her upbringing as the reason why she was drawn to less affluent neighborhoods in major cities like New York. This image shows a group of small children posing for her camera on a sidewalk in an Atlanta neighborhood.
Burt Glinn (American,1925–2008)
Eton - parent's day, England, 1959
Gelatin silver print on paper
Gift of Dr. Stephen J. and Eileen Nicholas, P'20, #TC2019.13.127
6 3/8 x 9 1/2”
Documentary photographer Burt Glinn is known for his coverage of Fidel Castro in Havana, Cuba, Japan, and Russia. Glinn was also one of the first Americans to join Magnum Photography, an international photographic cooperative that supplied images to magazines such as LIFE. In this image, Glinn captures a family resting at Eton College in Windsor, England.
Luc Chessex (Swiss, b. 1936)
[Portrait of two boys with hands on hips], c. 1965
Gelatin silver print on paper
Gift of Dr. Stephen J. and Eileen Nicholas, P’20, #LC-F-61
9 1/2 x 6 1/2”
George Rodger, born in Britain in 1908, had already traveled around the world twice by the age of 20. While in the British merchant marine he began documenting his travels through photography. He eventually worked as a full-time photographer for LIFE magazine, most notably as a war correspondent during World War II. Rodger covered Europe, North Africa, Burma, the D-Day Invasion, and the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
On assignment in the Philippines, Rodger was tasked with documenting daily life for the Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) as part of a larger photography project aimed at improving the image of the oil company by showing the positive impact on communities. The project, managed by Roy Stryker, was a decade long, running from the early 1940s–1950s and is considered an exceptional, but perhaps potentially biased, resource documenting the lives of Americans, as well as people in other countries following World War II. The Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) eventually merged into what is now Exxon Mobil Corporation.
Erich Hartmann (German, active in United States, 1922–1999)
Couple linking arms at the European Space Research Organisation exhibit, Photokina, Cologne, 1972
Gelatin silver print on paper
Gift of Dr. Stephen J. and Eileen Nicholas, P’20, #EH-223
The European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) in Darmstadt, Germany, has served as one of Europe’s hubs of the space industry, creating spacecraft ranging from telecom, weather, Earth observation and climate monitoring satellites. Photokina was a trade show that highlighted the imaging industry in Cologne since 1950.
Elliott Erwitt (American,1928–2023)
New York, 1953
Gelatin silver print on paper
Gift of Burton M. Leibert, ’66, #5224
15 1/2 x 22 1/2”
This quiet moment with a mother and her six-day-old daughter was captured by Elliot Erwitt, father and photographer. Widely reproduced, the image was taken in 1953 at his first apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Erwitt was known to use humor and joy in many of his works. This photograph was so popular that it was reproduced onto postcards, in magazines, and in advertisements.
George Rodger (British, 1908–1995)
Outdoor feasts are a great feature of Filipino life, Philippines, c. 1953
Gelatin silver print on paper
Gift of Dr. Stephen J. and Eileen Nicholas, P'20, #TC2019.13.143
6 1/2 x 10”
George Rodger, born in Britain in 1908, had already traveled around the world twice by the age of 20. While in the British merchant marine he began documenting his travels through photography. He eventually worked as a full-time photographer for LIFE magazine, most notably as a war correspondent during World War II. Rodger covered Europe, North Africa, Burma, the D-Day Invasion, and the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
On assignment in the Philippines, Rodger was tasked with documenting daily life for the Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) as part of a larger photography project aimed at improving the image of the oil company by showing the positive impact on communities. The project, managed by Roy Stryker, was a decade long, running from the early 1940s–1950s and is considered an exceptional, but perhaps potentially biased, resource documenting the lives of Americans, as well as people in other countries following World War II. The Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) eventually merged into what is now Exxon Mobil Corporation.
Bill Owens (American, b. 1938)
Vietnam War Protest, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California 1968
Gelatin silver print on paper (printed 2008)
Gift of Dr. Stephen J. and Eileen Nicholas, P'20, #BO-1448M
10 x 8”
Bill Owens was born in California in the late 1930s and is known for his photography series capturing the daily life of suburban middle class Americans. Owen also documented demonstrations in the 1960s that surrounded the opposition to the ongoing war in Vietnam. He also photographed Civil Rights protests and concerts like Woodstock during the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s.
Richard K. Reinhold (American, c. 1920–1992)
[Amish men and boys loading hay], 20th Century
Gelatin silver print on paper
Phillips Museum of Art, #5176
8 3/4 x 5 3/4”
Richard K. Reinhold, a Lancaster native, started working as a newspaper carrier in 1935 around the age of 15 years old. After graduating from McCaskey High School, he started working as a photographer for the Intell, a local newspaper. He served in the military during the second World War in a U.S. Army medical battalion from 1942 to 1945. He returned to his career as a photographer during which time he took photos for a book about the Amish and worked part-time for the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureau. Reinhold won many awards from the Associated Press, the Pennsylvania Newspapers Publishers Association, and the Pennsylvania Press Photographers Association.
Larry Colwell (American, 1901–1972)
Garden party, De Laud, Florida, 1963
Gelatin silver print on paper
Gift of Dr. Stephen J. and Eileen Nicholas, P'20, #LC-263
8 x 10”
Well respected for his extensive documentation of dance in photography, Colwell built a successful studio in Manhattan from which he worked, mainly for the advertising industry. In the 1940s, he was regularly published in leading magazines during his career, such as Time, LIFE, and Harper's Bazaar. Later in life he taught photography at the Jacksonville Art Museum in Florida and in Connecticut.
Adger W. Cowans (American, b. 1936)
[Bill Hutson and Edward Clark], c. 1980
Sepia toned, digital print on paper
Gift of Bill Hutson, #EC1458
Adger W. Cowans is one of the most influential contemporary photographers in the art world. In the 1980s, Cowans was part of the group AfriCOBRA (the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists) that was founded in Chicago in the late 1960s by a group of artists intent on defining a “black aesthetic.” These artists were associated with the Black Arts Movement in America and wanted to celebrate identity and awareness of political struggles by using black visual culture. This photograph captures artist Bill Hutson (African-American painter, 1936–2022) and Edward “Ed” Clark (African-American painter and architect, 1926–2019) in Bill Hutson’s studio on 17 West 20th Street in New York City.
Larry Fink (American, 1941–2003)
Ninth Birthday Party- Sabatine's, Martins Creek, Pennsylvania, 1978
Gelatin silver print on paper
Gift of Adam and Debbie Rappaport, #TC2021.05.01e
20 x 16”
As part of his 1970s Social Graces series of images, Larry Fink photographed the divergent worlds of a rural Pennsylvania community and Manhattan socialites. Moving from his hometown of New York City to a farm in Pennsylvania, he was welcomed into a local family’s celebrations and was able to document very different lifestyles than those he had found in the city. Fink’s photography captures the humanity of his subject and exposes the viewers to a glimpse into their lives.
Ken Heyman (American, 1930–2019)
Children on playground, Peru, 1961
Gelatin silver print on paper
Gift of Dr. Stephen J. and Eileen Nicholas, P'20, #TC2019.13.86
9 x 13”
Ken Heyman traveled the world taking images of different cultures and people. His first partnership was with famed anthropologist Margaret Mead, who brought him on her groundbreaking ethnographic study in Bali in the 1950s. Here, he captures the essence of childhood joy with a group on a Peruvian playground. Heyman’s photography reflects the universality of the human experience, and he shared his talents with magazines such as LIFE and LOOK.
Andreas Feininger (American, 1906–1999)
[Art class], probably 1946
Gelatin silver print on paper
Gift of the Estate of Gertrud E. Feininger, #2012.05.22
10 5/8 x 7 7/8”
Feininger was known for creating images that embraced the unity of living things and the structure of design, reflecting his early studies of cabinetmaking and architecture at Bauhaus, the German school of design. In this photograph Feininger documents an art class studying paintings in a barn-like structure. We believe the photograph was taken at the Farnsworth School of Art in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, founded by Jerry Farnsworth and specializing in figure and portrait painting.
One of the most prolific photographers both visually and technically, Andreas Feininger developed a portfolio of over 340 assignments for LIFE magazine as a staff photographer from 1943–1962. He also wrote many books on photographic techniques including Feininger on Photography (1949), Advanced Photography (1952), The Complete Photographer (1965), and The Color Photo Book (1969).
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