Original 13.25 x 10.5" 1957 silver gelatin photograph, "Gone Dry" - drained lake from someone accidentally leaving the dam open
Pittsburgh: 1957. Print mounted on 16 x 20" thick white stock which shows a little wear and soil, photo in excellent condition. Sun Telegraph label on rear, dated April 11, 1957 with photographer's pencilled note that someone "goofed," left the dam open and the 2300 acre lake drained. "Photo taken by moonlight." We're thinking the lake shown is one of possibly three: the Conemaugh River Lake dam, the Kinzua lake, or the Shenango River lake dam, our bet being the third option. Alexandrowicz (1927-1984) was a Pittsburgh-based photographer known both for his photo-journalism and his fine art photography; in the 1970s and 1980s he also worked for the EPA documenting industry's effects on the ecology of western Pennsylvania. An excerpt from the 1984 obituary in the Post-Gazette: "In 1973, Donald Miller, Post-Gazette art critic, reviewing a showing of Mr. Alexandrowicz's color photographs, described him as 'a visual poet, alive to compositional line, keen on moody landscapes, seascapes, exotic people and places.' At that time Mr. Alexandrowicz's giant prints were shown at three Downtown locations. Another Post-Gazette art critic, the late Jeannette Jena, once described Mr. Alexandrowicz as 'a gifted photographer whose work has a feeling for light and shade that suggests the chiaroscuro of 17th Century painting.' A native of Erie, Mr. Alexandrowicz began his career on the Erie Dispatch and joined the Sun-Telegraph in 1952. He remained there until 1961, when he joined the Post-Gazette, which had taken over the Sun-Telegraph. He started his own photography business on the Northside, and as a free-lance photographer received commissions from Western Pennsylvania industries. - His awards included the annual Kent State University photography contest, the Popular Photography Magazine contest and the Associated Press Newsphoto contest. He was Pittsburgh photographer for the New York Times and was a member of the Press Photographers Association of Greater Pittsburgh, the National Press Photographers Association, the Allegheny (North-side) Chamber of Commerce, the Polish Arts League, the Polish National Alliance, Polish Falcons and the Ethnic Cultural Heritage Organization." Very Good. Item #H15050
Price: $75.00