John Vachon
New York City Detective

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Artist John Vachon (American, 1914–1975)American, 1914–1975

CultureAmerican

Titles

New York City Detective

Date1964

PlaceNew York, New York, United States

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsImage: 8 1/4 x 10 3/4 in. (21 x 27.3 cm)
Sheet: 8 1/4 × 10 3/4 in. (21 × 27.3 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Mundy Companies

Object number94.59

Not on view

Explore Further

Department

Photography

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

DescriptionFollowing
his work as a photographer for the Farm Security Administration (FSA), John
Vachon continued to travel the country photographing scenes of American life.
At the same time, a uniquely American form of entertainment, the pulp novel,
was gaining popularity. These fast-paced, shocking tales often featured hard-boiled
detectives and mysterious women. Inspired by those pulp novels, Vachon began
staking out police departments, alert for dramatic scenes to capture with his
camera. This arresting moment of a police detective looming over a
bored-looking female suspect packs all the punch and intrigue of a pulp story
into a single photographic frame.
Provenance[Photocollect, New York]; purchased by MFAH, 1994.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Inscription: in pencil, upper right edge, verso; in black ink, upper right, verso; in pencil, lower right corner, verso:
"F-28", "NYPD", "[in a circle] 25"

Signed in brown ink, dated in pencil, upper right quadrant, verso: "Vachon/1964"

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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