id: 159020
accession number: 1995.227
share license status: Copyrighted
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1995.227
updated: 2025-02-15 12:46:40.604000
Greyhound Mechanic, 1943. Esther Bubley (American, 1921–1998). Gelatin silver print; image: 30.3 x 25.1 cm (11 15/16 x 9 7/8 in.); matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1995.227
title: Greyhound Mechanic
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: 1943
creation date earliest: 1943
creation date latest: 1943
current location:
creditline: John L. Severance Fund
copyright:
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culture: America
technique: gelatin silver print
department: Photography
collection: PH - American 1900-1950
type: Photograph
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
* Esther Bubley (American, 1921–1998) - artist
Esther Bubley American, 1921- Photojournalist Esther Bubley, born in Phillips, Wisconsin, began her career working with Roy Stryker in the Office of War Information during the 1940s. After studies at Superior State Teachers College (1937–38) and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (1939), Bubley secured a temporary job in New York City as a freelance photographer for Vogue in 1940. She moved to Washington, D.C., a year or two later, working as a microfilmer at the National Archives and then as a darkroom technician for Roy Stryker at the Farm Security Administration. In 1942 the fsa was transferred to the Office of War Information; Bubley was promoted to staff photographer the following year. She embarked on her first assignment, a study of the country's bus system, in September 1943. During a six-week bus trip she took more than 400 pictures documenting her travels throughout the Midwest and the South. Shortly after the assignment began, Stryker resigned from the government to oversee the Standard Oil Company's new photographic project. He invited Bubley to participate, and in 1945 she spent several weeks photographing various Texas oil towns. Two years later she produced a second bus series for the company. In the late 1940s Bubley accepted occasional assignments from the Ladies Home Journal (the "How America Lives" series) and in 1951 began working for Life, an association that lasted until the magazine ceased publication. Throughout her career Bubley has also photographed for McCall's, Harper's Bazaar, Saturday Evening Post, Good Housekeeping, and U.S. Camera. She lives in New York. M.M.
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measurements: Image: 30.3 x 25.1 cm (11 15/16 x 9 7/8 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work:
support materials:
inscriptions:
inscription: Written in pencil on verso: " 'Greyhound Mechanic' / by / Esther Bubley [underlined]/ ca 1940's / VINTAGE PRINT [underlined]/ her signature below / charming"; Esther Bubley [signed]". "SW / inventory 77.1"; "PF 12001"
translation:
remark:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: Industry and Photography: Selections from the Permanent Collection
opening date: 1997-11-16T00:00:00
Industry and Photography: Selections from the Permanent Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 16, 1997-March 1, 1998).
title: Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art
opening date: 2007-06-24T00:00:00
Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Frick Art and Historical Center, Pittsburgh, PA (October 3, 2009-January 3, 2010).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* {'description': 'Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; 11/16/97 - 3/1/98. "Industry and Photography: Selections from the Permanent Collection."', 'opening_date': '1997-11-16T00:00:00'}
* {'description': 'Frick Art and Historical Center, Pittburgh, PA (10/3/2009 - 1/3/2010); "Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art", no exhibition catalogue.', 'opening_date': '2009-10-03T00:00:00'}
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PROVENANCE
(G.W. Einstein Company, Inc., New York, NY)
date: ?-1995
footnotes:
citations:
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
date: December 4, 1995
footnotes:
citations:
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fun fact:
digital description:
wall description:
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996.
page number: Reproduced: P. 113
url:
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IMAGES