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Artists›Simpson Kalisher

Simpson Kalisher

Simpson Kalisher

Artist

WA-00027806

Photography

Representation

None documented

7

Institutional Exhibitions

39

Works in Collection

63

Assets Indexed

0

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

70%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (1)

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Mirrors and Windows: American Photography Since 1960

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1978

No image

Steichen Gallery Reinstallation

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1971

No image

Ben Schultz Memorial Exhibition

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1968

No image

Recent Acquisitions: Photography

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1965–1966

No image

The Photo Essay

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1965

No image

The Family of Man

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1955

No image

Photographs by 51 Photographers

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1950

Source Registry (1)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/2972
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

Simpson Kalisher was an American photographer known for black-and-white documentary work capturing urban life and social conditions in postwar America. Working primarily with the 35mm camera, he documented street scenes, labor, and everyday moments with a sharp eye for compositional geometry and human gesture. His photographs appeared in major publications and were exhibited at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art. Kalisher's practice remained rooted in direct observation and the formal possibilities of the photographic frame throughout his career.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 29d ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

—

Medium

Photography

Related Artists

6 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Cleveland Museum of Art Museum of Modern ArtNew York Art Institute of Chicago

Canonical record

Artworks (39)

UNTITLED (Veteran holding up child)

1963 · Gelatin silver print

13 1/2 × 9" (34.3 × 22.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

UNTITLED (Automobile on suburban highway)

1962 · Gelatin silver print

9 1/4 × 13 1/2" (23.5 × 34.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Railroad Men

1961 · Portfolio of gelatin silver prints (12)

Various dimensions, see individual object records

Art Institute of Chicago

(Woman on street, New York)

1961 · Gelatin silver print

13 7/16 × 9 3/16" (34.2 × 23.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled

1961 · Gelatin silver print

9 3/16 × 13 7/16" (23.3 × 34.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

(Bus group, New York)

1961 · Gelatin silver print

9 1/4 × 13 1/4" (23.5 × 33.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

1961 · Gelatin silver print

8 7/8 × 13 1/2" (22.6 × 34.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

1961 · Gelatin silver print

13 3/8 × 9 1/8" (33.9 × 23.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

(Highway, New York)

1960 · Gelatin silver print

13 3/8 × 8 15/16" (34 × 22.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled (Man with Two Brown Paper Bags)

1960 · gelatin silver print

Image: 22.9 x 33.7 cm (9 x 13 1/4 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Untitled (Repaving Broadway, New York City)

1960 · gelatin silver print

Image: 23.5 x 34.9 cm (9 1/4 x 13 3/4 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Untitled (Kennedy and Nixon Buttons)

1960 · gelatin silver print

Image: 25.4 x 17.5 cm (10 x 6 7/8 in.); Paper: 35.6 x 27.9 cm (14 x 11 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

(Paraders in New York)

1958 · Gelatin silver print

13 9/16 × 10 9/16" (34.5 × 26.8 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled

1956 · Gelatin silver print

Image/paper/mount: 34.4 × 23.2 cm (13 9/16 × 9 3/16 in.); frame: 61.3 × 51.2 cm (24 3/16 × 20 3/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

A Night Scene in the Yards. (train tracks and silhouetted trains)

1955 · Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1961

4 9/16 × 8" (11.6 × 20.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Repairmen. (two men repairing train)

1955 · Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1961

7 3/16 × 7 9/16" (18.2 × 19.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

A Railroad Crossing

1955 · Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1961

4 1/2 × 9 1/16" (11.5 × 23 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

A Yard Crew Keeps Warm and Waits Between Jobs in a Converted Car in the Yards. (crew sitting by stove)

1955 · Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1961

6 1/8 × 8 5/16" (15.5 × 21.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Shelby, Indiana, (men outside Shelby depot)

1955 · Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1961

5 11/16 × 8 5/16" (14.5 × 21.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

In a Yard Diner. (two men in diner)

1955 · Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1961

5 11/16 × 8 1/4" (14.5 × 21 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

A Yard Crew at the End of Their Shift. (men walking along tracks)

1955 · Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1961

5 11/16 × 8 5/16" (14.5 × 21.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

A Brakeman Rides a String of Cars Down the Hump. (man lifting metal grille)

1955 · Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1961

4 15/16 × 8 3/4" (12.6 × 22.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Portrait in the Caboose. (man inside train)

1955 · Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1961

5 3/4 × 8 1/4" (14.6 × 21 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Yard Scene. (two men standing on tracks next to freight train)

1955 · Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1961

5 3/8 × 8 1/4" (13.7 × 20.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

View all 39 artworks →

Artwork sources (3)

39 published of 61 catalogued · 16 with image

MoMA
22 publishedof 44 catalogued2 img
Art Institute Chicago
14 published14 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
3 published

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 3)

3 entries · 1 sources

Untitled (Repaving Broadway, New York City)
1960 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Untitled (Kennedy and Nixon Buttons)
1960 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Untitled (Man with Two Brown Paper Bags)
1960 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

A Yard Crew Keeps Warm and Waits Between Jobs in a Converted Car in the Yard, No. 6 from the portfolio "Railroad Men" (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

A Yard Crew Keeps Warm and Waits Between Jobs in a Converted Car in the Yard, No. 6 from the portfolio "Railroad Men" (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

3

Collections3

Cleveland Museum of Art Museum of Modern Art Art Institute of Chicago

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago