Albright

Untitled (Sweeper in Doorway) by Charlotte Spaulding Albright (1908)

Platinum Print

In the decades following its invention in the 1830s, photography was thought of only as a neat scientific invention and an instrument for visual documentation. It had to earn its place as an artistic medium. It was thought that art should show evidence of the artist’s hand and photography seemed to be a purely mechanical process. Therefore, photographers tried various ways to convince the world of its aesthetic legitimacy. One attempt was a style called Pictorialism.

In Pictorialism, the photograph and its development processes are manipulated to mimic the stylistic qualities of painting. The artist might use a soft focus, diffused lighting, coating the lens or filters, different chemicals in the development process, different papers for prints, carefully composed and framed landscapes and still-lifes – whatever will remove the cold documentary nature of the medium.

In Untitled, Albright references scenes of everyday life depicted by some Impressionists or Realists. She may even be looking as far back as the Dutch Baroque of the seventeenth century. These subjects were popular because they showed topics relatable to the average viewer. As a fashionable woman in early twentieth century American society, this may also be one of the few subject matter open to her.

In a platinum print, the metal is added to the developer solution to create a shallow tonal range of dark to light grayish-brown, rather than black and white. This reduces contrast and softens forms and edges. As a result, the work is softer and quieter. Textures and details emerge slowly from the work. Do you see the folds in the sweeper’s dress, or the stairway on the left? What about the open doorway on the right? The bright rectangle in the center counters the dark interior, but its light gray space, filled with medium gray shapes, does not overpower the composition. Its visual weight is almost equal to the darkness around it. These areas complement and balance each other.

Seen in silhouette, the sweeper almost blends into the rest of the work, but the broom handle draws my eye to her. It is the only clean, straight, diagonal line among the hazy verticals and horizontals. To me, that broom is the most dominant element in the picture. My eyes keep going back to it because it is so different than everything around it. The sweeper is interesting too. Her face is in total shadow and so has no identity, yet the way the sunlight shines through her hair, she seems to have a halo or an aura. Was this purposeful or a happy accident? I usually fall on the side that things like this are intentional. Is this work about something more than just a woman with a broom? Is it an allegory?

Allegories are images of heavy symbolism and complex metaphor that try to communicate a larger abstract idea. It was a favorite go-to of the Pictorialists. Traditional artistic media used allegory extensively, so many Pictorialists did too. So, is this work an allegory? If so, of what? Albright chose not to give this work a title. Untitled works become invitations to the viewer to interpret the piece as he or she sees fit. The secondary title—Sweeper in Doorway—should be seen as an acknowledgment of the subject matter. Sure, this is a picture of a woman sweeping in a doorway, but what else do you see? Or maybe, that’s all it is. That’s OK too.

Albright created a soft and charming work that invites the viewer to keep looking – to see what he can see. She removed the hard edges and harsh contrasts of cold documentation to create a work that, to me, is aesthetically and intellectually interesting. I think she succeeded in making this photograph a work of art.

This work is cared for by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Buffalo, NY, USA