Atomic Bomb Test Sequence, Operation Upshot-Knothole, Nevada Proving Ground, #1

March 11, 1953

American 20th Century

Associated Names
American 20th Century

Artist

International News Photos, Inc.

Publisher

The image is a black and white photograph of a two-story house with closed shutters. Low, rolling hills are visible in the background. A second house is seen in the middle distance to the right. The terrain includes sparse desert vegetation and low grasses. A truck is parked to the right of the closer house, and a figure is visible next to it.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon

  • Dimensions

    image: 16.6 × 21.2 cm (6 9/16 × 8 3/8 in.)
    sheet: 18 × 23 cm (7 1/16 × 9 1/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2015.137.1

Associated Artworks

See all 4 artworks

[[PLACEHOLDER ARTWORK]]

The image shows a black and white view of a house. The perspective is slightly elevated, looking diagonally at the structure. The side wall of the house is in sharp focus, displaying rectangular windows and a chimney casting a shadow. Foliage partially obscures the left side of the house. The land stretches flat towards the horizon, where mountain outlines are faintly visible. The image has a grainy, slightly blurred vintage look. The monochrome color palette enhances the starkness and textures of the terrain and building. The night sky above is dark with faint stars or points of light.

Atomic Bomb Test Sequence, Operation Upshot-Knothole, Nevada Proving Ground, #2

American 20th Century

1953

The image displays blurred lines and distorted shapes in a chaotic array. Towards the center, there is a form resembling a crumpled structure. Swirling patterns and blurred edges create a sense of movement, as if debris is being swept away.

Atomic Bomb Test Sequence, Operation Upshot-Knothole, Nevada Proving Ground, #3

American 20th Century

1953

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Mary and Dan Solomon, Monarch Beach, CA; gift to NGA, 2015.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2016

  • Intersections: Photographs and Videos from the National Gallery of Art and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2016 - 2017, unnumbered catalogue.

Inscriptions

on verso, by unknown hand, along left edge in graphite: Thurs. trib [illegible] / 3 [circled] / 4x4 ¾; upper center stamped in blue ink: ENGRAVING / 1953 MAR 11 PM 4:07; center International News Photos copyright stamp in black ink; printed in black ink on applied newspaper inverted: These two frame / houses on the atomic / proving grounds in Nevada / will be exposed to the / blast and heat of an atom- / ic explosion March 17. / They will be used in a / civil defense phase of the / atomic tests.; lower left stamped in red ink inverted: TRIBUNE 1st Edition / MAR 12 1953; by unknown hand, lower right in pink ink circled: atom Bomb – test. Nevada - 1953

Wikidata ID

Q64144788

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