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Mother with her Three Children

Danny Lyon

Artwork Details

Mother with her Three Children
1965; printed 2010
Danny Lyon
gelatin silver print on paper
14 in x 11 in (35.56 cm x 27.94 cm)
Gift of Thomas Wilson '79 and Jill Garling '80
2013/2.339

Description

Subject Matter:

The Uptown, Chicago series was taken in 1965, shortly before The Bikeriders. Lyon chose a single street, Clifton Street, and photographed recent migrants from Appalachia. Lyon commented that most license plates on the streets were from Kentucky and Tennessee, and the area was referred to as “hillbilly heaven.” Wishing to draw awareness to subjects that were rarely seen, he gave people in the neighborhood dollars to pose for pictures. After photographing, he often returned to give his subjects small prints, usually Rolleiflex contact prints.

Physical Description:

Portrait of a woman, her two daughters and a young baby. They sit on a sofa indoors; one daughter slouches into the couch on the left, holding the baby. The mother sits in the center, and the other daughter stands on the sofa cushion to the right of her mother.

Usage Rights:

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