MoMA Presents Eugène Atget: Documents Pour Artistes, Opens 2/6

Eugène Atget: "Documents pour artistes" will present six fresh and highly focused cross sections of the career of master photographer Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927), drawn exclusively from The Museum of Modern Art's unparalleled holdings of his work.

The exhibition, on view at MoMA from February 6 through April 9, 2012, gets its name from the sign outside Atget's studio door, which declared his modest ambition to create documents for other artists to use as source material in their own work. Whether exploring Paris's fifth arrondissement across several decades, or the decayed grandeur of parks at Sceaux in a remarkable creative outburst at the twilight of his career, Atget's lens captured the essence of his chosen subject with increasing complexity and sensitivity.

Also featured are Atget's photographs made in the Luxembourg gardens; his urban and rural courtyards; his pictures of select Parisian types; and his photographs of mannequins, store windows, and street fairs, which deeply appealed to Surrealist artists living in Paris after the First World War. The exhibition is organized by Sarah Hermanson Meister, Curator, Department of Photography, The Museum of Modern Art.

Exhibition is the First In-Depth Presentation of Atget's work by MoMA in Over 25 Years

Eugène Atget: "Documents pour artistes"
February 6—April 9, 2012
The Robert and Joyce Menschel Gallery, third floor

http://www.moma.org/