Gordon Coster

the photographer's credit stamp on the reverse, 1930s

Sotheby's New York, 5 October 1995, Sale 6747, Lot 236

This early print, on matte-surface double-weight paper, is in generally excellent condition. In raking light, a few deposits of original retouching are visible. The thin margin edges and corners are worn. The reverse is soiled, and there are abrasions from previous hinges and 2 cloth-tape remnants at the upper edge.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This dynamic image, which so captures the speed and excitement of track cycling, was made by multi-faceted photographer Gordon Coster.  Like many of his generation, Coster began his career working in the Pictorial mode, and his photographs were frequently exhibited in the Camera Club salons of the 1920s.  In the late 1920s, he worked for the Underwood & Underwood agency in New York.  He settled in Chicago in the 1930s and worked there as a photojournalist for LIFE, while also contributing images to Fortune, Time, Scientific American, and other magazines.  He was asked by László Moholy-Nagy to teach at Chicago’s famed Institute of Design in 1946, and he taught there periodically through 1960, where his primary focus was upon social documentary.

This photograph was almost certainly taken in Chicago, at one of several velodromes—or bicycle racing tracks—active in the city in the 1930s.  The site was likely the Chicago Bike Racing Track in Humboldt Park, which hosted the Olympic trials in 1940, but may have been the Chicago Coliseum on Wabash Avenue.  Coster makes great compositional use of the banked wooden track, whose horizontal lines accentuate the velocity of the racers.