These are one (two) of my very favorite finds of the week--I'm really quite obsessed with them really--which I picked, first one, then the other, out of a huge pile at a shop in NH, finding each image hugely intriguing and mysterious, and even more so together. I didn't pay attention to the name—Doris Humphrey-- written on the back of one of them, but have since realized that the woman in long dress standing tall above the rest is in fact modern dance pioneer Doris Humphrey (American, 1895-1958), and that what we have here are two snapshots of a performance, before or after or maybe even underway. Tons about Humphrey out there, who was lauded for her emphasis on sculptural forms and mastery of the intricacies of choreographing large groups, and who created numerous innovative outdoor works. She was one of the original faculty members at Julliard and at the Bennington School of Dance--which may be where these snapshots were taken, but I can quickly find no other documentation out there of something that looks like the same piece.
My excitement about these, though, is first and foremost for the images themself, which feel very alive, and mysterious, and charged with the electric, experimental energy of American modernism a la Black Mountain College et all, 1930s-50s. The illusion of that knee of the dancer in motion in the top one resting on the hill. And the dramatic presence of Humphrey in the lower one, in what I imagine was a red dress. And the postures and various configurations of young women all around. A whole world of things.
3 1/2" x 2 1/2" each, both in good condition.
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