Herbert E. Huncke age 69 retired from the street on methadone program, head tilted wise-eyed for wry conversation, about to say something charming, flattering or honest at the kitchen table New York March 1984.

1984

Allen Ginsberg

Associated Names
Allen Ginsberg

Artist, American, 1926 - 1997

The image depicts an elderly man sitting in a kitchen. He is leaning on the arm of a chair or couch, with his body turned slightly to the left. The man has a lined face, deep-set eyes, a slightly furrowed brow, closed mouth, and short, slightly wavy hair combed back. He is wearing a striped suit jacket over a buttoned shirt. In the background, there is a stove with pots and pans, iron skillets and various items attached to the walls. The wall behind the man is adorned with papers and small objects. Handwriting at the bottom of the image provides context about the man.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Gary Davis

  • Dimensions

    image: 18.4 × 27.4 cm (7 1/4 × 10 13/16 in.)
    sheet: 27.7 × 35.2 cm (10 7/8 × 13 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2012.118.65

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Allen Ginsberg Estate; Gary and Ellen Davis, Greenwich, CT; gift to NGA, 2012.

Associated Names

Inscriptions

signed by artist, across bottom in black ink: Herbert E. Huncke age 69 retired from the street on methadone program, head / tilted wise-eyed for wry conversation, about to say something charming, flat- / tering or honest at the kitchen table New York March 1984. Allen Ginsberg; on verso, by unknown hand, upper left in graphite: T61; upper center: first; upper right circled: #47; center inverted and circled in black pencil crayon: 23; center: BK 1 #9B / March 84; center in graphite: 183/8279; center right perpendicular: 54; lower center: page 82; lower right perpendicular: 1983?4? X; bottom left circled: 151; bottom center: GD-AG-367; bottom right: GDC-645 33

Wikidata ID

Q64073593

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