Getty Museum

The Beach, Percé, Gaspé, Quebec

Date

1929

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Culture

American

Department

Photographs

Institution

Getty Museum

In September 1929 Paul Strand traveled to Canada and made a series of photographs primarily in and around the village of Gaspé, in the province of Quebec. Previously, Strand had focused on particular objects with an intense vision that resulted in close-up details and abstract studies (link to [88.XM.15](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/1040Z3), [86.XM.686.4.1](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/1096V0), [86.XM.683.59](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/106NSK)). Now he was expressing an interest in the broad landscape and took up the challenge of reconciling the opposing elements of sky and land in a single frame. He began to use a smaller handheld Graflex camera for this body of work. His prints were now approximately 3 ½ x 4 ½ inches in size, yet, despite their small scale, the landscapes he depicted were often vast in scope, as can be seen in this beach view. Through his framing of the composition, the sky and water imbue the scene with a tremendous weight that defies the size of the print. Although small, the photograph cannot be dismissed as a whimsical study; instead, Strand forces the observer to think of it as a grand prospect. It is a complex arrangement where every element has been considered for the value it brings to the overall composition. The dories at the bottom left corner gently lead the viewer into the scene, where, at center, is the figure of a white horse, standing starkly against the gray waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The entire print deals with contrasts of light against dark: the boats on the beach; the white horse; the vast expanse of water, which is punctuated with the silhouettes of birds and boats—all leading to the bold horizontal planes of the sky, where the uppermost clouds are in direct contrast to the beach below. Originally published in _Paul Strand_, In Focus: Photographs from the J. Paul Getty Museum by Anne M. Lyden (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2005), 38. ©2005, J. Paul Getty Trust.

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