Alma Lavenson

signed in pencil and titled and dated in ink on the reverse, 1932

The photographer to her sons, Albert and Paul Wahrhaftig, 1987

Passion and Precision: Photographs from the Collection of Margaret W. Weston (Monterey Museum of Art, 2003), p. 58

This early print, with its lush tonality, is on double-weight paper with a matte surface. It is trimmed to the image and is in generally excellent condition. On the reverse of the print, there are adhesive remains, possibly from a prior mounting. The photographer has written both the negative and printing dates in addition to her signature, title, and date.
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Beginning in 1931, Alma Lavenson undertook a series of plant studies that marked a departure from the industrial subjects that had comprised her recent work.  Reminiscent of similar studies by Imogen Cunningham and Albert Renger-Patzsch, Lavenson's images focused on the plants' surface details and patterns.

According to Alma Lavenson authority Susan Ehrens, the photograph offered here is believed to be one of only two early prints of this image extant.