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Artists›Barbara Morgan

Barbara Morgan

Barbara Morgan

Artist

WA-00028562

PhotographyPhotographyPerformance Art

Representation

None documented

12

Institutional Exhibitions

37

Works in Collection

81

Assets Indexed

1

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

90%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (3)

WikidataQ4859173 ULAN500023840

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Collage and the Photo-Image

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1973

No image

Barbara Morgan: Photographs

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1972

No image

30th Anniversary Special Installation - Towards the "New" Museum

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1959

No image

Photographs from the Museum Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1958–1959

No image

The Family of Man

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1955

No image

Christmas Photographs

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1951–1952

No image

Abstraction in Photography

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1951

No image

In and Out of Focus: A Survey of Today's Photography

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1948

No image

Modern American Dance

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1945

No image

Photography

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1944

No image

Portraits

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1943

No image

Action Photography

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1943

Field Verification (1 fields)

1 cross-verified · 0 single-source

BiographyMoMA· 93%✓

Source Registry (2)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/4089
Tier 1 · Institutional92%
Artsy (bulk)https://www.artsy.net/artist/barbara-morgan-2
Tier 1 · Institutional85%

About

Why this artist matters now

Barbara Morgan was an American photographer and printmaker whose work bridged modernism and documentary practice across seven decades. She pioneered light-abstraction photography in the 1930s and 1940s, creating dynamic compositions through multiple exposures and experimental darkroom techniques. Her photographs of Martha Graham's dance performances rank among the most significant visual records of modern dance. Morgan's practice also encompassed lithography, drawing, and photomontage, often addressing themes of human movement, labor, and social transformation.

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

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Photography

Medium

Photography

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

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

Canonical record

Artworks (37)

Artificial Life from the Laboratory

Artificial Life from the Laboratory

1967 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 44.1 × 34.6 cm (17 3/8 × 13 5/8 in.); Paper: 50.7 × 40.4 cm (20 × 15 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Fossils in Formation

Fossils in Formation

1965 · Gelatin silver print

Image/paper: 30.6 × 40.2 cm (12 1/16 × 15 7/8 in.); Mount: 50.6 × 59.7 cm (19 15/16 × 23 9/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Icons in Time- Stream

1963 · gelatin silver print, photomontage

Image: 22.8 x 16.2 cm (9 x 6 3/8 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Corn Stalks Growing

Corn Stalks Growing

1945 · Gelatin silver print

12 3/16 × 9" (31 × 22.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Stump

1945 · Gelatin silver print, printed 1971

8 15/16 × 13" (22.7 × 33.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Willard's Foot

1945 · Gelatin silver print, printed 1971

14 1/8 × 11 7/8" (35.8 × 30.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Beech Tree I

1945 · Gelatin silver print, printed 1971

18 3/8 × 13 5/8" (46.7 × 34.6 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Corn Leaf Rhythm

Corn Leaf Rhythm

1945 · Gelatin silver print, printed 1971

19 1/2 × 13 1/2" (49.5 × 34.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Valerie Bettis-Desperate Heart

Valerie Bettis-Desperate Heart

1944 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 43.2 × 35.2 cm (17 1/16 × 13 7/8 in.); Paper: 50.7 × 40.5 cm (20 × 16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Jose Limon, Mexican Suite, Peon

Jose Limon, Mexican Suite, Peon

1944 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 32.2 × 43.7 cm (12 11/16 × 17 1/4 in.); Paper: 40.5 × 50.6 cm (16 × 19 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Lloyd's Head

1944 · Gelatin silver print, printed 1970

15 1/4 × 10 3/4" (38.7 × 27.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

1943 · gelatin silver print

Image: 24 x 34.9 cm (9 7/16 x 13 3/4 in.); Matted: 45.7 x 55.9 cm (18 x 22 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Use Litter Basket

Use Litter Basket

1943 · Gelatin silver print

10 1/4 × 12 1/16" (26.0 × 30.8 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

1943 · Photograph

13 × 9" (33 × 22.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Doug and Toad

1942 · Gelatin silver print

7 3/8 × 9 3/8" (l8.8 × 23.8 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Solstice

1942 · Gelatin silver print, printed 1971

15 11/16 × 10 11/16" (39.8 × 27.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Willard's Fist

1942 · Gelatin silver print, printed 1971

11 13/16 × 10" (30 × 25.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Merce Cunningham: Totem Ancestor

Merce Cunningham: Totem Ancestor

1942 · Gelatin silver print, printed 1950

18 9/16 × 13 5/16" (47.1 × 33.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Pure Energy and Neurotic Man

Pure Energy and Neurotic Man

1941 · Gelatin silver print, printed 1971

19 1/8 × 15 1/2" (48.6 × 39.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Martha Graham - letter to the world

Martha Graham - letter to the world

1940 · gelatin silver print on baryta paper

height: 376 cm, width: 487 cm, width: 708 cm, height: 556 cm

Untitled

1940 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 41 × 34.1 cm (16 3/16 × 13 7/16 in.); Paper: 50.7 × 40.5 cm (20 × 16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Cadenza

1940 · Gelatin silver print, printed 1971

17 7/8 × 15" (45.4 × 38.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Martha Graham, El Penitente (Erick Hawkins Solo, "El Flagellante")

Martha Graham, El Penitente (Erick Hawkins Solo, "El Flagellante")

1940 · Gelatin silver print

19 × 13 3/4" (48.3 × 34.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Martha Graham, "Letter to the World"

Martha Graham, "Letter to the World"

1940 · Gelatin silver print

14 3/4 × 18 3/8" (37.4 × 46.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

View all 37 artworks →

Artwork sources (5)

37 published of 61 catalogued · 46 with image

MoMA
24 publishedof 48 catalogued39 img
Art Institute Chicago
6 published6 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
5 published
Rijksmuseum
1 published1 img
The Met
1 published

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 6)

6 entries · 1 sources

Martha Graham - letter to the world
1940 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Doris Humphrey - My Red Fires
1938 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Charles Weidman, Lynchtown (Humphrey-Weidman Group)
1938 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Icons in Time- Stream
1963 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Charles Weidman, Lynchtown (Bea Seckler Solo)
1938 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Amaryllis Bud
1943 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Martha Graham - letter to the world (1940)

Rijksmuseum

Jose Limon, Mexican Suite, Peon (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

6

Movements2

Photography Performance Art

Collections4

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

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Rijksmuseum

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Record

Selected Credits

12 total

1973Collage and the Photo-Image — Museum of Modern Artexhibition

1972Barbara Morgan: Photographs — Museum of Modern Artexhibition

195930th Anniversary Special Installation - Towards the "New" Museum — Museum of Modern Artexhibition

1958Photographs from the Museum Collection — Museum of Modern Artexhibition

1955The Family of Man — Museum of Modern Artexhibition

1951Christmas Photographs — Museum of Modern Artexhibition

1951Abstraction in Photography — Museum of Modern Artexhibition

1948In and Out of Focus: A Survey of Today's Photography — Museum of Modern Artexhibition

1945Modern American Dance — Museum of Modern Artexhibition

1944Photography — Museum of Modern Artexhibition

1943Action Photography — Museum of Modern Artexhibition

1943Portraits — Museum of Modern Artexhibition

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

Group Exhibition Collage and the Photo-Image

New York · 1973

Exhibition Collage and the Photo-Image

Museum of Modern Art

New York · 1973

Solo Exhibition Barbara Morgan: Photographs

New York · 1972

Exhibition Barbara Morgan: Photographs

Museum of Modern Art

New York · 1972

Group Exhibition 30th Anniversary Special Installation - Towards the "New" Museum

New York · 1959

Exhibition 30th Anniversary Special Installation - Towards the "New" Museum

Museum of Modern Art

New York · 1959