Running Legs

Front / Recto

Title Running Legs
Negative Date 1940–41
Print Date 1940–55
Medium Gelatin silver print
Dimensions Image 13 x 10 3/8" (33 x 26.4 cm)
Place Taken New York
Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Bequest of Grace M. Mayer, by exchange
MoMA Accession Number 1787.2001
Copyright © 2015 Estate of Lisette Model, courtesy Baudoin Lebon Gallery, Paris and Keitelman Gallery, Brussels

Back / Verso

Mount Type No mount - evidence previous mount
Marks and Inscriptions Signed in black ink on sheet verso, center: Lisette Model. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, center: 2" 3" 4". Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: Rederer. Stamped in black ink on sheet verso, bottom center: c. Lisette Model. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: 12 [circled]. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: TW 891201.
Provenance The artist; to Sander Gallery (Gerd Sander), Washington, D.C. [1]; purchased by Robert Miller Gallery (Howard Read), New York, 1980 [2]; purchased by Thomas Walther, December 1989 [3]; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
[1] Carol Ehlers, letter to Audrey Sands, October 18, 2013; and Gerd Sander, letter to Maria Morris Hambourg, October 31, 2013.
[2] Sander Gallery invoice no. 567, June 4, 1980.
[3] Thomas Walther archival no. TW 891201 on sheet verso.

Surface

Surface Sheen Glossy
Techniques Retouching (additive)
Enlargement
Ferrotyping
PTM

Detail view of the recto of the artwork made using reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) software, which exaggerates subtle surface details and renders the features of the artwork plainly visible. Department of Conservation, MoMA
Micro-raking

Raking-light close-up image, as shot. Area of detail is 6.7 x 6.7 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA

Raking-light close-up image, processed. Processing included removal of color, equalization of the histogram, and sharpening, all designed to enhance visual comparison. Department of Conservation, MoMA

Paper Material

Format Unknown
Weight Single weight
Thickness (mm) 0.19
UV Fluorescence Recto negative
Verso negative
Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 98%
Hardwood bleached sulfite 1%
Rag 1%
Material Techniques Developing-out paper
XRF
This work was determined to be a gelatin silver print via X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry.

The following elements have been positively identified in the work, through XRF readings taken from its recto and verso (or from the mount, where the verso was not accessible):
- Recto: P, S, Ca, Sr, Ag, Ba
- Verso: Al, P, S, Ca, Zn, Sr, Ba
The graphs below show XRF spectra for three areas on the print: two of the recto—from areas of maximum and minimum image density (Dmax and Dmin)—and one of the verso or mount. The background spectrum represents the contribution of the XRF instrument itself. The first graph shows elements identified through the presence of their characteristic peaks in the lower energy range (0 to 8 keV). The second graph shows elements identified through the presence of their characteristic peaks in the higher energy range (8 to 40 keV).

Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
Elements identified: Al, P, S, Ca, Ag, Ba

Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
Elements identified: Zn, Sr, Ag

In Context

Related Images

Lisette Model. Times Square. 1940. Gelatin silver print, 15 9/16 x 19 9/16" (39.6 x 49.7 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the photographer. © 2014 Estate of Lisette Model, courtesy Baudoin Lebon Gallery, Paris and Keitelman Gallery, Brussels

Tom Maloney. “Feet Tell the Story of Wall Street’s Bustling.” U.S. Camera 1, no. 14 (February 1941). Photographs by Lisette Model. © 2014 Estate of Lisette Model, courtesy Baudoin Lebon Gallery, Paris and Keitelman Gallery, Brussels

Related People

Artist
- Lisette Model

PHOTOGRAPHVIEW ALL

Lisette Model