Eliot Porter

at Paula Cooper

Barn Swallow, Great Spruce Head Island, Maine, 1974

Winnetka, IL native and amateur photographer Eliot Porter has made a re-entry into the fine art photographic world in NYC recently first through artist Trisha Donnelly's Artist-Choice exhibition, which was nestled in amongst the painting and sculpture galleries at MoMA, and now through a retrospective up at Paula Cooper. 

In 1938 Alfred Steiglitz offered Porter a show at his celebrated gallery on 5th avenue. With this offer, Porter decided to give up his initial intent to practice medicine and devote himself to photography. His use of large format cameras, the dye transfer printing method and his affinity for nature resulted in a body of work that is both playful and beautifully executed.

Since Steiglitz's show, Porter went on to be exhibited in prominent museums around the country and included in dozens of books. Porter died in 1990.

Click here to visit Paula Cooper's website and here to read more about Trisha Donnelly's Artist-Choice exhibition at MoMA.