Sonya Noskowiak
Maudelle

Maudelle
Maudelle
Maudelle
ArtistAmerican, born Germany, 1900–1975
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Maudelle
Date1939
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 9 1/4 × 7 3/8 in. (23.5 × 18.8 cm)
Sheet: 9 1/4 × 7 3/8 in. (23.5 × 18.8 cm)
Mount: 18 × 13 7/8 in. (45.7 × 35.3 cm)
Credit LineGift of Ron Shaich
Object number2005.1125
Non exposé

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
Description


Maudell Bass was a noted dancer and a favorite model of modernist artists. Her theatricality caught the eye of painter Diego Rivera— who was reportedly “enraptured by her beauty”— and photographers Edward Weston, Johan Hagemeyer, Carl Van Vechten, and Sonya Noskowiak. Unlike those of her contemporaries, Noskowiak’s portrait of Bass is bold and striking, yet quiet and contemplative. Devoid of the costumes, large gestures, or movement that other artists incorporated, Noskowiak’s portrait captured the emotional power that Bass conveyed with merely a raised chin and expressive eyes.



ProvenanceRon Shaich, Scarsdale, New York; given to MFAH, 2005.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Signed in pencil, mount recto, lower right below image: Sonya Noskowiak 1939
Inscribed in pencil, mount verso, upper left: ‘Maudell’ [sic]
Inscribed in pencil, mount verso and recto mat: 2789
Stamped, verso, lower center: SONYA NOSKOWIAK
Signed in pencil, mount recto, lower right below image: Sonya Noskowiak 1939
Stamped, verso, lower center: SONYA NOSKOWIAK

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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

Maudelle
Sonya Noskowiak
1939
Gelatin silver print
2004.2075
Lumber Mill, Albion, California
Sonya Noskowiak
1930s
Gelatin silver print
2002.1770
Portrait of Peter Stackpole
Sonya Noskowiak
1936
Gelatin silver print
2000.534
Portrait of Carlos Dyer
Sonya Noskowiak
1930s
Gelatin silver print
2004.2199
Mendocino, California
Sonya Noskowiak
1930s
Gelatin silver print
2004.2198
Old Stove
Sonya Noskowiak
1930s
Gelatin silver print
2005.1123
Seated Baby Giraffe
Sonya Noskowiak
1930–1950
Gelatin silver print
2004.2073
Landscape with Shadows
Sonya Noskowiak
1930s
Gelatin silver print
2004.2071
Portrait of Pierre Monteux, Composer and Conductor
Sonya Noskowiak
1930s
Gelatin silver print
2004.2072
Portrait of Arthur Noskowiak
Sonya Noskowiak
1935
Gelatin silver print
2004.2076
Statue of a Man
Sonya Noskowiak
1930s
Gelatin silver print
2004.2074
San Francisco Back Yards
Sonya Noskowiak
1930s
Gelatin silver print
2005.1124