Paul Outerbridge, Jr.
American, 1896–1958
Marmon Crankshaft
INV-5018
Paul Outerbridge, Jr.
American, 1896–19581923
Marmon Crankshaft
Paul Outerbridge, Jr. American, 1896–1958 →platinum printphotographic process
Date
1923
Medium
Platinum print
Dimensions
Image/paper: 11.8 × 9.2 cm (4 11/16 × 3 5/8 in.); Mount: 35.6 × 28 cm (14 1/16 × 11 1/16 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Julien Levy Collection, Gift of Jean and Julien Levy
One of the most acclaimed commercial photographers of the early 20th century, Paul Outerbridge is best known for the acute formalism of his photographs. He made this image of a crankshaft for an advertisement for the Marmon Motor Car Company, whose cars were known at the time both for advanced engineering and high style. Here Outerbridge combined the two; far from describing function, the photograph emphasizes the sculptural nature of new machinery and embodies his approach of using “photography purely as a means toward raising advertising to a higher artistic level.” Outerbridge moved easily between the worlds of commerce and art, exhibiting regularly in galleries starting in 1923. Avant-garde dealer Julien Levy, from whose collection this photograph came, exhibited his work in 1932.
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