photo mag

157
(APRIL 12, 1883 — JUNE 23, 1976)
Imogene Cunningham was an American photographer known for her botanical photography, nudes, and industrial
landscapes. She was born in Portland, Oregon, the fifth of ten children. She grew up in Seattle, Washington and at
the age of eighteen in 1901, she bought her first camera. A 4x5 inch view camera, inspired by Gertrude Käsebier’s
photographs. With the help of her chemistry professor, Horace Byers, she began to study the chemistry behind
photography and she subsidized her tuition by photographing plants for the botany department. In 1907, Cunningham
graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in chemistry and her thesis was titles, “Modern Processes
of Photography.” After graduating college, she went to work for Edward S Curtis in his Seattle studio, learning about
the portrait business and practical photography. Cunningham learned the technique of platinum printing and became
fascinated by the process. In Seattle, Cunningham opened a studio and won acclaim for portraiture and pictorial work.
Most of her work consisted of sitters in their own homes, in her living room, or in the woods surrounding Cunningham’s
cottage. She became a desired photographer and exhibited at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences in 1913.
In 1920, Imogen and her family moved to San Francisco where she refined her style. She took an interest in pattern and
detail, becoming increasingly interested in botanical photography, especially flowers. Between 1923 and 1925, she carried
out an in-depth study of the Magnolia flower. Later, she turned her attention to industrial landscapes in Los Angeles and
Oakland. Cunningham changed direction again and became more interested with the human form, particularly hands, and
the hands of artists and musicians. This interest led to her employment by Vanity Fair, photographing stars without make-up.
As Cunningham moved away from pictorialism and toward sharp-focus photography, she joined with like-minded photographers
to form Group f/64 to promote this style of photography. In the 1940s, she turned to documentary street photography,
which she executed as a side project while supporting herself with commercial and studio photography. Imogen Cunningham
continued to take photos shortly before her death at age 93 in San Francisco, California.