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Gallery Network - Richard Levy Gallery

Wilson A. Bentley

Snowflake

1888 - 1927

Gold-Chloride toned microphotograph

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Ships from: New Mexico, United States

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Description

Wilson Bentley (American, 1865-1931).


Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley became the first person to photograph a single snow crystal in the winter of 1885 on his farm in Jericho, VT. He perfected a process of catching flakes on black velvet so that their images could be captured before they melted. He first became interested in snow crystals at the age of 15, when his mother gave him a microscope. He attempted to record the snowflakes by drawing what he saw through the lens. The snowflakes were too complex to record before they melted, so he attached a bellows camera to a compound microscope, and after much experimentation, photographed his first snowflake on January 15, 1885. These images represent beautiful ghosts of American winters over a century ago. Floated in a custom wood frame with dark brown finish and UV filter acrylic.


This piece is final sale and not eligible for return.

Dimensions

Height: 4 inches / 10.16 cm
Width: 3 inches / 7.62 cm
Frame Height: 6.5 inches / 16.51 cm
Frame Width: 5.25 inches / 13.34 cm
Frame Depth: 1.5 inches / 3.81 cm

Signature

Signed on the reverse.

Provenance

Acquired from Wilson Bentley's neighbor

Condition Report

Excellent condition.

Art Period

Modern

Movement/Style

Pictorialism

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