Eliot Porter

Artist

Fairfield Porter, 10 Jun 1907 - 18 Sep 1975

Sitter

Eliot Porter, 6 Dec 1901 - 2 Nov 1990

Exhibition Label

One of America's foremost nature photographers, Eliot Porter helped support the growth of the environmental and ecology movements, especially with the books he published with the Sierra Club. Trained as a biochemist, Porter gave up science for professional photography after receiving encouragement from photographers Ansel Adams and Alfred Steiglitz; Steiglitz launched Porter's career with a one-man show at his famous gallery in 1938. Unlike Adams, Porter worked in color, perhaps because his scientific background attuned him to technical advances in color processing. Porter's popular breakthrough came in 1962, when the Sierra Club sponsored his photographic manifesto on the environment, In Wilderness Is the Preservation of the World. Porter's series of books for the club helped make it America's leading environmental organization. Eliot was the brother of painter Fairfield Porter, who captures him here in a moment of quiet repose.

Provenance

(Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York); purchased 1993 NPG

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

1975

Object number

NPG.93.25

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Copyright

© Estate of Fairfield Porter

Type

Painting

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

Stretcher: 147.3 x 81.3cm (58 x 32")

Frame: 163.8 x 97.8 x 6.4cm (64 1/2 x 38 1/2 x 2 1/2")

National Portrait Gallery

Topic

Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair

Exterior

Printed Material\Book

Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses

Eliot Porter: Male

Eliot Porter: Visual Arts\Artist\Photographer

Eliot Porter: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Environmentalist

Eliot Porter: Science and Technology\Scientist\Biochemist

Eliot Porter: Education\Educator\Professor\Biochemistry

Portrait

Record ID

npg_NPG.93.25

Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm49dda7228-5602-43c0-9984-e3a0e4a4b429