1950s Black and White Photography
7
to
111
1,953
791
72
658
1,837
515
386
965
921
133
516
208
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
1,926
246
111
13
4
2
2
1
2,227
1,098
1,053
894
879
464
402
371
334
293
269
240
228
192
191
162
158
151
144
144
10
199
14,967
15,340
17
69
160
725
417
2,751
2,027
1,834
1,727
1,403
6
1,132
382
128
60
41
1,396
1,132
1,132
899
424
Period: 1950s
New England Skiing
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Slim Aarons
New England Skiing
Black and White Photography
Slim Aarons Estate Edition
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate.
Certificate of...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
New England Skiing
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skis leaning against the wall of a hut marked 'Ski Instructors Only' in New Hampshire, 1955.
New England Skiing
Black and White Photography
Slim Aa...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
Backgammon By The Pool
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Countess Peter Jean-Baptiste de Manio (left) and Mary-Beth Turner playing backgammon by a swimming pool in Palm Beach, Florida, 1959.
Slim Aarons
Backgammon By The Pool...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
Holiday Hair Check
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Faith Gibbons checks her hair in the mirror of a motor scooter, Bermuda, 1958. She is wearing a striped Irish linen overblouse by Donald Davies of Dublin.
Slim Aarons
Holiday Hair Check...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
Holiday Hair Check
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Faith Gibbons checks her hair in the mirror of a motor scooter, Bermuda, 1958. She is wearing a striped Irish linen overblouse by Donald Davies of Dublin.
Slim Aarons
Holiday Hair Check...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Emulsion, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
Pulitzer On The Beach
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Patsy Pulitzer (nee Patsy Bartlett) at Palm Beach, Florida.
Slim Aarons
Pulitzer On The Beach
Black and White Photography
Slim Aarons Estate Edition
Numbered and stamped by the Slim...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
NY Lights
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A set of traffic lights on Park Avenue in New York City.
Slim Aarons
NY Lights
Black and White Photography
Slim Aarons Estate Edition
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate....
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
NY Lights
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A set of traffic lights on Park Avenue in New York City.
Slim Aarons
NY Lights
Black and White Photography
Slim Aarons Estate Edition
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate....
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
NY Lights
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A set of traffic lights on Park Avenue in New York City.
Slim Aarons
NY Lights
Black and White Photography
Slim Aarons Estate Edition
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate....
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Emulsion, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
New England Skiing
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A skier carrying his boots in New Hampshire, 1955.
New England Skiing
Black and White Photography
Slim Aarons Estate Edition
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate.
Certific...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
New England Skiing
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A skier carrying his boots in New Hampshire, 1955.
New England Skiing
Black and White Photography
Slim Aarons Estate Edition
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aarons Estate.
Certific...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
New England Skiing
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A skier carrying his boots in New Hampshire, 1955.
New England Skiing
Black and White Photography
Slim Aarons Estate Edition
Numbered and stamped b...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Emulsion, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
Eton Vs Harrow
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A view of spectators on the pitch at a cricket match between the public schools of Eton and Harrow at Lord's Cricket Ground, London, 1955.
Slim Aarons
Eton Vs Harrow
Black and Whit...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
Eton Vs Harrow
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A view of spectators on the pitch at a cricket match between the public schools of Eton and Harrow at Lord's Cricket Ground, London, 1955.
Slim Aarons
Eton Vs Harrow
Black and Whit...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Emulsion, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
Luxury Dining
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Diners in a grand ballroom during a fashion show, circa 1955.
Slim Aarons
Luxury Dining
Black and White Photography
Slim Aarons Estate Edition
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aaron...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
New England Skiing
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A young skier prefers to carry his skis down the slope in New Hampshire, 1955.
New England Skiing
Black and White Photography
Slim Aarons Estate Edition
Numbered and stamped by the ...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Emulsion, ABS, Black and White, Photogram, Digital
French Polo Crowd
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A group of spectators at a polo match, France, circa 1950.
Slim Aarons
French Polo Crowd
Black and White Photography
Slim Aarons Estate Edition
Numbered and stamped by the Slim Aaro...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
The Carlton Hotel
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A Cadillac with Florida plates parked outside the Carlton Hotel, Cannes, France, circa 1955.
The Carlton Hotel
Black and White Photography
Slim Aarons E...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
The Carlton Hotel
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A Cadillac with Florida plates parked outside the Carlton Hotel, Cannes, France, circa 1955.
The Carlton Hotel
Black and White Photography
Slim Aarons E...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Emulsion, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
New England Skiing
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skis leaning against the wall of a hut marked 'Ski Instructors Only' in New Hampshire, 1955.
New England Skiing
Black and White Photography
Slim Aarons Estate Edition
Numbered and s...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
New England Skiing
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skis leaning against the wall of a hut marked 'Ski Instructors Only' in New Hampshire, 1955.
New England Skiing
Black and White Photography
Slim Aarons Estate Edition
Numbered and s...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Emulsion, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
New England Skiing
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skis leaning against the wall of a hut marked 'Ski Instructors Only' in New Hampshire, 1955.
New England Skiing
Black and White Photography
Slim Aarons Estate Edition
Numbered and s...
Category
American Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram
Coco Chanel Visits with Jeanne Moreau, 1957
By Mark Shaw
Located in New York, NY
Chanel Visits with Jeanne Moreau, 1957 -- Chanel visits with the famous French film actress, Jeanne Moreau. Mark Shaw's informal, grainy, black and white images of Coco Chanel were c...
Category
Modern 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Giclée
Bert Hardy 'Mercedes Racer' Limited Edition Photograph by Getty, 20x24
Located in San Rafael, CA
Argentinian race car driver Juan Fangio (1911 - 1995) in his Mercedes at Le Mans, June 1955. The race saw the death of Mercedes team mate Pierre Levegh and 80 spectators. Original Pu...
Category
Modern 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Young Fidel Castro - Vintage b/w Photo-1957
Located in Roma, IT
Young Fidel Castro - Vintage b/w Photo realized in 1959 in New York, Stamped Copyright by:
Black Star, London.
Good conditions.
Category
Contemporary 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper
Slim Aarons 'Capucine'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Capucine, 1957
Fiber print
30 x 20 inches
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate.
Slim Aarons (1916-2006) worked mainl...
Category
Modern 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
C Print
V&A Museum London 'Queen Elizabeth II' by Cecil Beaton
By Cecil Beaton
Located in London, GB
'Queen Elizabeth II' by Cecil Beaton (1904-80)
Queen Elizabeth II wearing the sash of the Order of the Garter and a diamond and pearl diadem made for King George IV, Buckingham Palac...
Category
1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
Bettie Page Brushing Hair, First Shoot in 1954
By Bunny Yeager
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Bettie Page 'Brushing Hair', First Shoot, 1954 by Bunny Yeager
Photographed in 1954
Printed in 2013
Image size: 19 in. H x 18.75 in. W
Sheet size: 24 in....
Category
Other Art Style 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Other Medium, Black and White
The Garden Of Buddhas by Gleb Derujinsky, Vintage Fashion Photography
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Selected from the Derujinsky: Around The World Portfolio, shot in The Garden Of Buddhas, Aythutthaya in Thailand, for Harper's Bazaar
Artist: Gleb Derujinsky
Title: Garden Of Buddh...
Category
Other Art Style 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
Kings of Hollywood
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Film stars (left to right) Clark Gable (1901 - 1960), Van Heflin (1910 - 1971), Gary Cooper (1901 - 1961) and James Stewart (1908 - 1997) enjoy a joke at a New Year's party held at R...
Category
Realist 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Lambda
Willie
Located in Toronto, ON
Hand Signed by Ken Heyman ...
Category
Contemporary 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Ernest Hemingway, Cuba
Located in Toronto, ON
Hand Signed by Ken Heyman Limited Edition of ? Born in New York City in 1930, Ken Heyman first became interested in photography in high school. Later, during his student days at Columbia College-which were interrupted by a two-year stint in the army-his skill as a photographer grew, but still regarded photography as no more than a hobby. Then two events in college helped to direct him toward his career in photography. First, he sent off selections of his work to two national photography annuals and was pleased, indeed surprised, when both indicated they were eager to print his pictures-and did.
But perhaps more important was his becoming a student of the distinguished anthropologist Margaret Mead...
Category
Contemporary 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Marilyn Monroe Riding the Elephant
By Weegee
Located in New York, NY
This image features a costumed Marilyn Monroe, adorned with valuable jewelry and riding a pink-painted elephant. The occasion was opening night of the Ringling Brothers...
Category
1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller
Located in Toronto, ON
Hand Signed by Ken Heyman
Born in New York City in 1930, Ken Heyman first became interested in photography in high school. Later, during his student days at Columbia College-which were interrupted by a two-year stint in the army-his skill as a photographer grew, but still regarded photography as no more than a hobby. Then two events in college helped to direct him toward his career in photography. First, he sent off selections of his work to two national photography annuals and was pleased, indeed surprised, when both indicated they were eager to print his pictures-and did.
But perhaps more important was his becoming a student of the distinguished anthropologist Margaret Mead...
Category
Contemporary 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Pablo Picasso
Located in Toronto, ON
Hand Signed by Ken Heyman ...
Category
Contemporary 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Seattle Tubing Society, Gelatin Silver Print
By Burt Glinn
Located in New york, NY
Seattle Tubing Society, 1953 by Burt Glinn is one of the photographer's iconic 1950s shots - this one of people relaxing in inner tubes on a pond. The zeitgeist of madcap and fun, th...
Category
Contemporary 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Benton on the Couch (Thomas Hart Benton Plate #28)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Michael Mardikes
Benton on the Couch (Thomas Hart Benton Plate #28)
Year: 1956, 2021
Pigment Ink on Archival Paper Photograph
Size: 19x13.5 in
Paper Size: 22x17 in
Edition: 10 (9 Mon...
Category
Naturalistic 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Queen Elizabeth II Visit to America, New York City 1950s, Gelatin Silver Print
By Burt Glinn
Located in New york, NY
A documentary portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on her trip to America in the 1950s. In this black-and-white photograph Burt Glinn captures Qu...
Category
Contemporary 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Observatory of Time India by Gleb Derujinsky, Vintage Fashion Photography
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Selected from Derujinsky: The Around The World Portfolio, shot at the Observatory of Time (Jantar Mantar), India for Harper's Bazaar
Artist: Gleb Derujinsky
Title: Observatory of T...
Category
Other Art Style 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Ink, Archival Pigment
"Lipstick Check" by Thurston Hopkins
Located in London, GB
"Lipstick Check" by Thurston Hopkins
7th November 1953: A contestant in a 'Miss World' beauty competition sponsored by Mecca Dancing applying her lipstick using a shiny car as a mirror. Original Publication: Picture Post - 6785 - The Beauty Contest...
Category
Modern 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Black and White
La Cave de Luis Candela by Gleb Derujinsky, 1957, Fashion Photography
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Selected from the Derujinsky: Around The World Portfolio, shot in the famous restaurant La Cave de Luis Candela in Madrid for Harper's Bazaar
Artist: Gleb Derujinsky
Title: La Cave...
Category
Other Art Style 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
Slim Aarons 'Jamaica Sea Sailing'
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Jamaica Sea Sailing, 1953
Fiber print
Estate edition of 150
Signature stamped and hand numbered with Certificate of authenticity
1953: Two men sailing their yacht 'Eel II' in Jamaic...
Category
Modern 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Benton walking dog (Thomas Hart Benton Plate #6)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Michael Mardikes
Benton walking dog (Thomas Hart Benton Plate #6)
Year: 1956, 2021
Pigment Ink on Archival Paper Photograph
Image Size: 19x13.5 in
Paper Size: 22x17 in
Edition: Unique
Monogrammed by hand
Label signed and numbered by Estate Representative
COA provided by Authorizing Body
Additional COA provided by representing Gallery
Ref.: 924802-908
Image included in the exhibition An Artist at Home in America: Michael Mardikes’ Photographs of Thomas Hart Benton at the Kansas City Public Library (November 20, 2021-May 15, 2022)
One night in late 2020, as Nick Vedros was leaving the home of his Aunt Myrt and Uncle Michael Mardikes, his aunt suddenly asked him, “What are we going to do with all the negatives?” The noted Kansas City photographer was not sure what his 89-year-old aunt was talking about, until she handed him a notebook filled with more than 1000 negatives chronicling Thomas Hart Benton at home and in his studio. They had been filed away for almost seven decades.
This startling discovery was the inspiration for the exhibition, “An Artist at Home in America: Michael Mardikes’ Photographs of Thomas Hart Benton” on view at the Kansas City Public Library Central Library. The exhibition is a must-see, not just for fans of Thomas Hart Benton but for devotees of exemplary photojournalism.
Of the 1,080 photographs Mardikes took, only four had been published in an article he wrote for “This Month in Kansas City” magazine in 1966. The others were never printed, nor was their existence common knowledge. Although Vedros had been aware of his uncle’s assignment with Benton, he was stunned to discover that so much additional material existed.
Vedros, who decided at age 12 to become a photographer himself after seeing his uncle’s work, was determined to organize an exhibition, and was especially interested in doing it as quickly as possible given his uncle’s advanced age and increasing frailty. Collaborating with Dan White, a photographer, master printer and friend since their time together at the University of Missouri journalism school, they selected 34 images to be printed and framed, researching the details with Steve Sitton, the director of the Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio Historic Site.
Michael Mardikes had had a brief career as a commercial photographer before going on to work in management at the Ford Motor Company and later at UMKC. He made the acquaintance of Benton through Eugene Pyle, a former student of Benton’s and Mardikes’ photography instructor at the Art Institute. In 1955, Benton asked Mardikes to photograph him; Mardikes visited Benton 35 to 40 times, over a period of a few months in late 1955 and early 1956. Sitton told Vedros that not only was Mardikes’ amount of access incredible, but that the resulting body of work was unmatched.
As the project progressed, Benton became focused on a mural commission for the River Club in 1956. Henry Adams, preeminent Benton scholar and former curator at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, provided some context for this particular work: “The commission to paint ‘Traders at Westport Landing’ came at a low point in Benton’s career, 1956, and initiated the late phase of Benton’s mural paintings. It was the first of a series of murals depicting the exploration and settlement of the west, which culminated in the Truman Library mural, which was completed in 1962. All these murals feature trading and friendly contact with the Indians, rather than conflict, and are arresting in their bright color and meticulous rendering of carefully researched detail. The River Club, which commissioned ‘Traders at Westport Landing,’ overlooks the Missouri River and has a panoramic view very similar to the one in Benton’s painting.”
This group of black and white photos not only documents the artist’s working process but also reveals other aspects of his daily life: one memorable image reveals Rita Benton massaging her husband’s stiff shoulders after a long day in his studio. Other images show members of the River Club board visiting Benton’s studio to check on the progress of the mural. One charming image captures a candid moment of Rita Benton and Myrt Mardikes as they collaborated in the Benton kitchen making chicken kapama for their husbands.
Nan Chisholm
Nan Chisholm is an art consultant and appraiser of 19th- and 20th-century paintings. After a long association with Sotheby’s, she founded her own business in 2003. She has appeared as a fine art appraiser...
Category
Modern 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Fragrant Harbor Hong Kong by Gleb Derujinsky, Vintage Fashion Photography
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Selected from the Derujinsky: Around The World Portfolio, shot in Fragrant Harbor, Hong Kong for Harper's Bazaar
Artist: Gleb Derujinsky
Title: Fragrant Harbor
Year: 1957
Estate ...
Category
Other Art Style 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
Overall with Paintings (Thomas Hart Benton Plate #24)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Michael Mardikes
Overall with Paintings (Thomas Hart Benton Plate #24)
Year: 1956, 2021
Pigment Ink on Archival Paper Photograph
Size: 19x13.5 in
Paper Size: 22x17 in
Edition: 2
Sign...
Category
Modern 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Tom & Rita (Thomas Hart Benton Plate #10)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Michael Mardikes
Tom & Rita (Thomas Hart Benton Plate #10)
Year: 1956, 2021
Pigment Ink on Archival Paper Photograph
Image Size: 14.5x14.5 in
Paper Size: 22x17 in
Edition: Unique
Sig...
Category
Modern 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Patsy Pulitzer, Private Transport
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons
Patsy Pulitzer, Private Transport
1955
C print
Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate.
Patsy Pulitzer rummag...
Category
American Modern 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Behind Smoke (Thomas Hart Benton Plate #29)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Michael Mardikes
Behind Smoke (Thomas Hart Benton Plate #29)
Year: 1956, 2021
Archival Pigment Print on Premium Rag
Image Size: 13.5x19 in
Paper Size: 17x22 in
Edition: 7
Monogrammed...
Category
Modern 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment, Archival Paper
Photography Black White Landscape Outdoor Nature Adventure Travel Photo Signed
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Yosemite Valley" is an original photograph by Thomas Ferderbar. This is an expansive landscape show of the yosemite valley. An amazing black and white view that emulates Ferderbar's...
Category
Contemporary 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Luster, Archival Ink, Digital
"Avril Crosby" Mixed Media Black And White Photography, Silver Gelatin Print
By Peter Beard
Located in New York, NY
This work is signed, titled, dated, and variously inscribed with ink by the artist on recto.
"Avril Crosby (from Yale Bowl 1958) to 133 E. 80th Street roof top 1959."
Artwork Dimens...
Category
Contemporary 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Ink, Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper
Bettie Page Two-Piece Leopard Print Suit, Key Biscayne, FL, 1954
By Bunny Yeager
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Bettie Page Two-Piece Leopard Print Suit, Key Biscayne, FL, 1954 by Bunny Yeager
Vintage Gelatin Silver Print
Image size: 20 in. H x 16 in. W
Frame ...
Category
1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Black and White
Boy with Mirror (Thomas Hart Benton Plate #26)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Michael Mardikes
Boy with Mirror (Thomas Hart Benton Plate #26)
Year: 1956, 2021
Pigment Ink on Archival Paper Photograph
Image Size: 19x13.5 in
Paper Size: 22x17 in
Edition: Unique
Monogrammed by hand
Label signed and numbered by Estate Representative
COA provided by Authorizing Body
Additional COA provided by representing Gallery
Ref.: 924802-909
Image included in the exhibition An Artist at Home in America: Michael Mardikes’ Photographs of Thomas Hart Benton at the Kansas City Public Library (November 20, 2021-May 15, 2022)
One night in late 2020, as Nick Vedros was leaving the home of his Aunt Myrt and Uncle Michael Mardikes, his aunt suddenly asked him, “What are we going to do with all the negatives?” The noted Kansas City photographer was not sure what his 89-year-old aunt was talking about, until she handed him a notebook filled with more than 1000 negatives chronicling Thomas Hart Benton at home and in his studio. They had been filed away for almost seven decades.
This startling discovery was the inspiration for the exhibition, “An Artist at Home in America: Michael Mardikes’ Photographs of Thomas Hart Benton” on view at the Kansas City Public Library Central Library. The exhibition is a must-see, not just for fans of Thomas Hart Benton but for devotees of exemplary photojournalism.
Of the 1,080 photographs Mardikes took, only four had been published in an article he wrote for “This Month in Kansas City” magazine in 1966. The others were never printed, nor was their existence common knowledge. Although Vedros had been aware of his uncle’s assignment with Benton, he was stunned to discover that so much additional material existed.
Vedros, who decided at age 12 to become a photographer himself after seeing his uncle’s work, was determined to organize an exhibition, and was especially interested in doing it as quickly as possible given his uncle’s advanced age and increasing frailty. Collaborating with Dan White, a photographer, master printer and friend since their time together at the University of Missouri journalism school, they selected 34 images to be printed and framed, researching the details with Steve Sitton, the director of the Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio Historic Site.
Michael Mardikes had had a brief career as a commercial photographer before going on to work in management at the Ford Motor Company and later at UMKC. He made the acquaintance of Benton through Eugene Pyle, a former student of Benton’s and Mardikes’ photography instructor at the Art Institute. In 1955, Benton asked Mardikes to photograph him; Mardikes visited Benton 35 to 40 times, over a period of a few months in late 1955 and early 1956. Sitton told Vedros that not only was Mardikes’ amount of access incredible, but that the resulting body of work was unmatched.
As the project progressed, Benton became focused on a mural commission for the River Club in 1956. Henry Adams, preeminent Benton scholar and former curator at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, provided some context for this particular work: “The commission to paint ‘Traders at Westport Landing’ came at a low point in Benton’s career, 1956, and initiated the late phase of Benton’s mural paintings. It was the first of a series of murals depicting the exploration and settlement of the west, which culminated in the Truman Library mural, which was completed in 1962. All these murals feature trading and friendly contact with the Indians, rather than conflict, and are arresting in their bright color and meticulous rendering of carefully researched detail. The River Club, which commissioned ‘Traders at Westport Landing,’ overlooks the Missouri River and has a panoramic view very similar to the one in Benton’s painting.”
This group of black and white photos not only documents the artist’s working process but also reveals other aspects of his daily life: one memorable image reveals Rita Benton massaging her husband’s stiff shoulders after a long day in his studio. Other images show members of the River Club board visiting Benton’s studio to check on the progress of the mural. One charming image captures a candid moment of Rita Benton and Myrt Mardikes as they collaborated in the Benton kitchen making chicken kapama for their husbands.
Nan Chisholm
Nan Chisholm is an art consultant and appraiser of 19th- and 20th-century paintings. After a long association with Sotheby’s, she founded her own business in 2003. She has appeared as a fine art appraiser...
Category
Modern 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
V&A Museum London 'Princess Elizabeth With The Prince of Wales' by Cecil Beaton
By Cecil Beaton
Located in London, GB
'HRH Princess Elizabeth With HRH The Prince of Wales' by Cecil Beaton (1904-80)
Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II, with Prince Charles. ...
Category
1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
Color Test (Thomas Hart Benton Plate #3)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Michael Mardikes
Color Test (Thomas Hart Benton Plate #3)
Year: 1956, 2021
Pigment Ink on Archival Paper Photograph
Image Size: 9x12 in
Paper Size: 11x14 in...
Category
Modern 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
"Star Trio" by Darlene Hammond
Located in London, GB
"Star Trio" by Darlene Hammond
1953: Married American actors Lauren Bacall (L) and Humphrey Bogart (1899 - 1957) pose with American actor Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962) at the premier...
Category
Modern 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Black and White
"Lipstick Check" by Thurston Hopkins
Located in London, GB
"Lipstick Check" by Thurston Hopkins
7th November 1953: A contestant in a 'Miss World' beauty competition sponsored by Mecca Dancing applying her lipstick using a shiny car as a mirror. Original Publication: Picture Post - 6785 - The Beauty Contest...
Category
Modern 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Black and White
River Club Unveiling Event (Thomas Hart Benton Plate #31)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Michael Mardikes
River Club Unveiling Event (Thomas Hart Benton Plate #31)
Year: 1956, 2021
Pigment Ink on Archival Paper Photograph
Image Size: 13.5x19 in
Paper Size: 17x22 in
Editi...
Category
Modern 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
"Chihuahuas" by Keystone
Located in London, GB
"Chihuahuas" by Keystone
A small dog's eye-view of two chihuahuas and their owners waiting for judges at Cruft's all-champion dog show.
Unframed
Paper Size: 20" x 24'' (inches)
Pri...
Category
Modern 1950s Black and White Photography
Materials
Black and White
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