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Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Open 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Visit
Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Admission is always free

6th and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20565

Sculpture Garden Extended Hours

Open late until 8:00 p.m. on select nights
Through September 5
Exhibitions & Events
America’s 250th

Celebrating American art and artists
Art & Artists
Open Call

Artists Reimagining the Collection
Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Doll/New York City

1949

Robert Frank

Associated Names

Robert Frank

Artist, American, born Switzerland, 1924 - 2019

This is a photograph of a person holding a transparent plastic bag containing a doll wrapped in fabric. The image shows a hand gripping the handles of a plastic bag, inside which there is a fabric-wrapped doll. The lighting and focus create a mysterious atmosphere, with only the hand holding the bag and the doll inside being clearly visible. The background is blurred, suggesting an indoor setting with additional lights in the distance. The overall effect is somewhat somber and thought-provoking, with a contrast between the mundane object of a bag and the unusual situation of it containing a doll.

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Artwork overview

Medium

gelatin silver print
Credit Line

Robert Frank Collection, Gift of Robert Frank in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art
Dimensions

image: 35.1 x 21.4 cm (13 13/16 x 8 7/16 in.)
sheet: 35.1 x 31.4 cm (13 13/16 x 12 3/8 in.)
Accession Number

1990.28.29.26
Series Title

Black White and Things
Copyright

© Robert Frank Foundation

This is a black-and-white photograph of a parade with a large balloon figure floating in the air between city skyscrapers. The balloon figure is in the shape of a man hanging from a horizontal a bar or rod below a larger round balloon that floats between the tall buildings. In the center of the photograph, behind the balloon figure, is a tall skyscraper with a flag at the top. It appears slightly hazy, as if covered with mist. People, some wearing top hats, are gathered below, looking up at the balloons. We mainly see the tops of their heads. The sky beyond the buildings is pale gray. — Men of Air/New York

Robert Frank

1947

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The artist, New York; gift to NGA, 1990.

Associated Names

Frank, Robert

Exhibition History

1994

Robert Frank: Moving Out, National Gallery of Art, Washington; Yokohama Museum of Art; Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Lannan Foundation, Los Angeles, 1994-1996, no. 13.

2000

"Hold Still-Keep Going", Museum Folkwang Essen; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, 2000-2001.

Inscriptions

lower right in graphite, on linen tape hinge: 26

Wikidata ID

Q64161375

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