Aaron Siskind
Savoy Dancers

Savoy Dancers

© Courtesy of the Aaron Siskind Foundation

Savoy Dancers
Savoy Dancers
ArtistAmerican, 1903–1991
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Savoy Dancers
  • from the series Harlem Document
Datec. 1936, printed later
PlaceNew York, New York, United States
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 11 1/2 × 9 1/2 in. (29.2 × 24.1 cm)
Sheet: 13 7/8 × 10 15/16 in. (35.2 × 27.8 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Gay Block
Object number93.71
Non exposé

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
Description

In 1936 Aaron Siskind established within the Photo League the “Feature
Group”—photographers who produced photo essays or “features” that exposed the
conditions of disenfranchised citizens of New York City. Led by Siskind, Harlem Document was the Feature Group’s
most extensive series. Lasting for three years, the project documented
life in the borough and culminated in the 1939 exhibition Toward a Harlem Document. Siskind made some of his most successful
and well-known documentary photographs while a part of the League, but he
ultimately left the organization in 1941 as his work began to take a new, more
abstract focus.




Provenance[John Cleary Gallery, Houston]; purchased by MFAH, 1993.
Exhibition HistoryExhibited: "A Love Affair with Pictures: 25 Years of Collecting Photographs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Lower Jones and Masterson Galleries, October 14 - December 30, 2001.

Exhibited: "Aaron Siskind: Centennial Celebration," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, July 3, 2004 - September 26, 2004.

Exhibited: "On the Downbeat: Jazz in Books and Photographs," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Coat Check Room, Caroline Weiss Law Building, September 27, 2008 - January 25, 2009.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed in black ink, recto, lower left below image: Savoy Dancers - Harlem Document - circa 1936
Signed in black ink, recto, lower right below image: Aaron Siskind
Signed in black ink, recto, lower right corner below image: Aaron Siskind

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Jerome, Arizona 21
Aaron Siskind
1949
Gelatin silver print, contact print
2002.2284
Chicago 22
Aaron Siskind
1949
Gelatin silver print
2002.2946
Clamps on Wood
Aaron Siskind
c. 1948
Gelatin silver print
2002.2285
[Celebrating The Babe in all babies, Xmas, 1955]
Aaron Siskind
1955
Gelatin silver print
2002.2281
Xmas Greetings 1955
Aaron Siskind
1955
Gelatin silver print
2002.2280
Chicago 52
Aaron Siskind
1952
Gelatin silver print
2002.2283
Gloucester 16 A
Aaron Siskind
1944
Gelatin silver print
2002.2282
New York I
Aaron Siskind
1947
Gelatin silver print
2002.2279
Chicago
Aaron Siskind
1948
Gelatin silver print
2002.2277
Harlan, Kentucky
Aaron Siskind
1951
Gelatin silver print
2002.2947
Feet
Aaron Siskind
1957
Gelatin silver print
2002.3302
Jalapa 35 (Homage to Franz Kline)
Aaron Siskind
1973, printed 1977–1987
Gelatin silver print
2021.482