Wright Morris (American, 1910-1998) Faulkner Country, Near Oxford, Mississippi

Description:

Wright Morris (American, 1910-1998)

Faulkner Country, Near Oxford, Mississippi, 1939, probably printed later. Signed "Wright Morris" in pencil on the verso l.r., dedicated "to Bill/from Wright Morris" in pencil on the verso u.l. Gelatin silver print, image size 7 7/16 x 9 7/16 in. (18.8 x 23.8 cm),framed.
Condition: Minor rippling to sheet.

N.B. In the late 1930s and 1940s the novelist Wright Morris made beautiful and poignant photographs exploring the rural culture of the American countryside. Morris's emphasis was on architecture and still life, but unlike the work of Walker Evans, which provides a formal description of American vernacular structures, Morris photographed farms and homesteads that were fading into the past. Although they are mostly without human subjects, his images offer evidence of bad luck, failure, misplaced faith, tenacity, and human fallibility. As he wrote after a cross-country journey in 1938, "I saw the American landscape crowded with ruins I wanted to salvage." [1]

[1] Quoted in Sandra S. Phillips and John Szarkowski, Wright Morris: Origin of a Species (San Francisco: San Francisco Museum of Art, 1992),p. 27.
Estimate $1,200-1,800

The print does not fluoresce when viewed under UV light. Linen hinge remnants on the verso at upper corners. No additional issues to report.


The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging. Condition requests can be obtained via email (lot inquiry button) or by telephone to the appropriate gallery location (Boston/617.350.5400 or Marlborough/508.970.3000). Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Skinner Inc. shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.

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