Robert Frank
Until 21 January 2018
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The Americans, a group of photos shot by Robert Frank between 1955 and 1957, made photographic history: these works, which Frank took on a series of road trips through the United States, illuminate the post-war “American way of life” in grim black and white, revealing a reality of pervasive racism, violence, and consumer culture. Due to his images’ failure to uphold America’s self-image at the time, it was at first only possible to publish the synonymous book in Europe. But with The Americans, Robert Frank did ultimately succeed in creating one of the most influential photographic works of the post-war period while also effecting a sustained renewal of street photography.
The Albertina, in its exhibition, is showing selected groups of works that make it possible to retrace Robert Frank’s development as an artist: from his early Swiss photo reportages and travel photos to The Americans and on to his introspective late oeuvre, central aspects of his work are placed front and centre.
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Robert Frank: Drugstore, Detroit, 1955
Gelatin silver print
(© Robert Frank, The Albertina Museum, Vienna – on permanent loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation for Art and Science)
Robert Frank: Cafeteria – San Francisco, 1956
Gelatin silver print
(© Robert Frank, The Albertina Museum, Vienna – on permanent loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation for Art and Science)
Robert Frank: 14th Street White Tower, New York, 1948
Gelatin silver print
(© Robert Frank, Collection Swiss Foundation for Photography, Donation of the Artist)
Robert Frank: Trolley – New Orleans, 1956
Gelatin Silver Print
(© Robert Frank, Sammlung Fotostiftung Schweiz, Eigentum der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft, Bundesamt für Kultur, Bern)
Robert Frank: San Francisco, 1956
Gelatin silver print
(© Robert Frank, The Albertina Museum, Vienna – on permanent loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation for Art and Science)
Robert Frank: Los Angeles, 1955/1956
Gelatin silver print
(© Robert Frank, The Albertina Museum, Vienna – on permanent loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation for Art and Science)
Robert Frank: Funeral – St. Helena, South Carolina, 1955
Gelatin silver print
(© Robert Frank, The Albertina Museum, Vienna – on permanent loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation for Art and Science)
Robert Frank: Car Accident - U.S. 66 between Winslow and Flagstaff, Arizona, 1956
Gelatin silver print
(© Robert Frank, The Albertina Museum, Vienna – on permanent loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation for Art and Science)
Robert Frank: Rodeo – Detroit, 1955
Gelatin silver print
(© Robert Frank, The Albertina Museum, Vienna – on permanent loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation for Art and Science)
Robert Frank: Wellfleet, Massachusetts, 1962
Gelatin silver print
(© Robert Frank, Collection Swiss Foundation for Photography, Donation of the Artist)
Robert Frank: London, 1951
Gelatin silver print
(© Robert Frank, Collection Swiss Foundation for Photography, Estate of Arnold Kübler)
Robert Frank: Paris, 1949
Gelatin silver print
(© Robert Frank, The Albertina Museum, Vienna – on permanent loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation for Art and Science)
DoDo Jin Ming: Robert Frank, 1998
(© Courtesy the artist)
Robert Frank: Rodeo – New York City, 1955
Gelatin silver print
(© Robert Frank, Collection Swiss Foundation for Photography, Property of the Swiss Confederation, Federal office for culture, Bern)
Gelatin silver print (© Robert Frank, The Albertina Museum, Vienna – on permanent loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation for Art and Science)
Gelatin silver print (© Robert Frank, The Albertina Museum, Vienna – on permanent loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation for Art and Science)
Gelatin silver print (© Robert Frank, Collection Swiss Foundation for Photography, Donation of the Artist)
Gelatin Silver Print (© Robert Frank, Sammlung Fotostiftung Schweiz, Eigentum der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft, Bundesamt für Kultur, Bern)
Gelatin silver print (© Robert Frank, The Albertina Museum, Vienna – on permanent loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation for Art and Science)
Gelatin silver print (© Robert Frank, The Albertina Museum, Vienna – on permanent loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation for Art and Science)
Gelatin silver print (© Robert Frank, The Albertina Museum, Vienna – on permanent loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation for Art and Science)
Gelatin silver print (© Robert Frank, The Albertina Museum, Vienna – on permanent loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation for Art and Science)
Gelatin silver print (© Robert Frank, The Albertina Museum, Vienna – on permanent loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation for Art and Science)
Gelatin silver print (© Robert Frank, Collection Swiss Foundation for Photography, Donation of the Artist)
Gelatin silver print (© Robert Frank, Collection Swiss Foundation for Photography, Estate of Arnold Kübler)
Gelatin silver print (© Robert Frank, The Albertina Museum, Vienna – on permanent loan from the Austrian Ludwig Foundation for Art and Science)
(© Courtesy the artist)
Gelatin silver print (© Robert Frank, Collection Swiss Foundation for Photography, Property of the Swiss Confederation, Federal office for culture, Bern)