Getty Museum

Rebecca, New York

Date

1923

Medium

Palladium print

Culture

American

Department

Photographs

Institution

Getty Museum

Paul Strand married his first wife, Rebecca Salsbury (1891-1968), in January 1922. She, like Strand, had attended the Ethical Culture School in New York but was several years behind him. As an artist who painted on glass and did embroidery, Salsbury shared many of Strand's interests and, through him, became friendly with both Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) and Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986). From 1920 until 1932 Strand made a series of portraits of Salsbury that were somewhat of a departure from his previous work. Having sought to engage with the environment and people of New York City on a level of apparent objectivity, he was now entering into a domain that was completely subjective. His relationship with his wife naturally allowed him intimate access to her as a subject and introduced a level of interaction not usually present in his portraits. Placing his wife in the role of a muse, Strand created a body of work that was informed by Stieglitz's series of portraits of O'Keeffe, begun in 1917 ([91.XM.63.13](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/104MAW), [91.XM.63.7](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/104MAQ)). The idea of a serial portrait was something Stieglitz had been working on long before he met O'Keeffe, but with her as a subject, the concept crystallized. Viewed as a mirror, the portrait reflected not only the emotional and physical state of the sitter but, inevitably, that of the photographer too. Although Strand's portraits of Salsbury can be seen as a personal expression of their relationship as it developed over the years, many of the compositional devices and poses are already found in Stieglitz's O'Keeffe photographs. Despite the perceived similarity to Stieglitz's work, the portraits of Salsbury are notably different. There is a distance, a barrier almost, between subject and photographer that characterizes many of Strand's images. Whereas O'Keeffe comes across as a willing participant in the poses prescribed by Stieglitz, Salsbury exhibits an awkwardness despite the intimate qualities of Strand's work. ([86.XM.683.1](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/106NR1), [86.XM.683.6](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/106NR3), [86.XM.683.53](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/106NSF), [86.XM.683.56](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/106NSG), [86.XM.683.62](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/106NSM)) 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), 30. ©2005, J. Paul Getty Trust.

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