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Paul Strand photographic works

Paul Strand, 1954

© Paul Strand

In 1954, the great American photographer Paul Strand travelled to the Hebridean islands off the west coast of Scotland to document the remote communities who lived there. He shot pictures of the people and landscapes of Benbecula, South Uist and Eriskay and then edited them down to the 105 plates published in his classic 1962 book Tîr aÂ’Mhurain (Land of Bent Grass). The project was part of StrandÂ’s ongoing attempt to record the ideal community. The nine photographs from the series purchased by the Scottish National Portrait Gallery are original, richly textured prints made by Strand himself. Among them are representative pictures from all three genres featured in the book: portraits, landscapes and abstract details. Their beauty, rarity and subject matter makes it all the more resonant that they are the first works by this renowned photographer to enter a public collection in Scotland.

More information

Title of artwork, date

Paul Strand photographic works, 1954

Date supported

2015

Medium and material

Gelatin-silver print

Dimensions

Various dimensions Ranging from 11.4 × 14.6cm to 19.3 × 24.1cm

Grant

20000

Total cost

37124.004

Content note: This object record is part of our archive and has not been updated since it was first published. It may contain inaccurate information or outdated language. Please get in touch if you think this record should be amended.

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