Sally Mann
At Twelve (Leah and Her Father)

At Twelve (Leah and Her Father)

© Sally Mann

At Twelve (Leah and Her Father)
At Twelve (Leah and Her Father)
ArtistAmerican, born 1951
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • At Twelve (Leah and Her Father)
Date1983–1985
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 10 × 12 11/16 in. (25.4 × 32.2 cm)
Sheet: 10 5/16 × 12 7/8 in. (26.2 × 32.7 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Nena Marsh
Object number2021.296
Non exposé

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
Description


Sally Mann’s first major photographic project, At Twelve, is a series of portraits of adolescent girls in rural Virginia. Lush, sensitive portraits of the liminal period when many young girls move away from childhood and into adolescence and womanhood, the series captures stormy boldness and growing discomfort with one’s body and changing place in the world. Before Mann’s immense 8-by-10-inch view camera, Leah sits on her father’s lap but, too tall to easily be held, seems to spill over him. Looking directly at Mann’s lens, Leah’s over-the-shoulder intensity demands immediate attention against the soft-focus of her surroundings.



Provenance[Leland Little Auctions, Hillsborough, NC]; purchased by MFAH, 2021.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Signed in pencil, verso, lower right: Sally Mann
Signed in pencil, verso, lower right: Sally Mann

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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