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Artists›Ray K. Metzker

Ray K. Metzker

Ray K. Metzker

American, 1931–2014

WA-00028468

PhotographyPhotography

Representation

None documented

10

Institutional Exhibitions

29

Works in Collection

48

Assets Indexed

6

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

90%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (3)

WikidataQ7297835 ULAN500076932

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Big Pictures by Contemporary Photographers

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1983

No image

Reinstallation of the Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1980

No image

Edward Steichen Photography Center Reinstallation

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1979

No image

Mirrors and Windows: American Photography Since 1960

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1978

No image

Collage and the Photo-Image

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1973

No image

Photography as Printmaking

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1968

No image

Ray K. Metzker

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1967–1968

No image

Steichen Gallery Reinstallation

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1967

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

Field Verification (5 fields)

5 cross-verified · 0 single-source

Birth yearArtsy + Duplicate Merge· 85%✓
BiographyMoMA· 93%✓
Death yearDuplicate Merge· 85%✓
NationalityArtsy· 85%✓
Primary mediumDuplicate Merge· 85%✓

Source Registry (1)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/3948
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

Ray K. Metzker was an American photographer who developed a distinctive approach to black-and-white photography centered on fragmentation, pattern, and the geometry of urban and natural landscapes. Working primarily with 35mm film, he created tightly cropped, high-contrast images that isolate fragments of the visible world, transforming everyday scenes into abstract compositional studies. His photographs emphasize the formal properties of light, shadow, and shape rather than narrative or documentary content, positioning photography as a medium of visual inquiry rather than description.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 1mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Photography

Medium

Photography

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Museum of Modern ArtNew York Cleveland Museum of Art Whitney Museum of American Art

Canonical record

Artworks (29)

1989 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 42.8 x 43 cm (16 7/8 x 16 15/16 in.); Paper: 60.4 x 50.5 cm (23 3/4 x 19 7/8 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

1989 · gelatin silver print

Image: 34.5 x 34.1 cm (13 9/16 x 13 7/16 in.); Paper: 50.7 x 40.4 cm (19 15/16 x 15 7/8 in.); Matted: 61 x 50.8 cm (24 x 20 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Untitled

1989 · Gelatin silver print

16 15/16 × 16 15/16" (43 × 43 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Earthly Delights

Earthly Delights

1988 · Gelatin silver print

15 3/4 × 13 1/2" (40 × 34.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Earthly Delights

Earthly Delights

1986 · Gelatin silver print

13 1/2 × 13 1/2" (34.3 × 34.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Feste di Foglie (Tuscany)

1985 · gelatin silver print

Image: 34.2 x 33.8 cm (13 7/16 x 13 5/16 in.); Paper: 50.6 x 40.3 cm (19 15/16 x 15 7/8 in.); Matted: 61 x 50.8 cm (24 x 20 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Untitled

1981 · Gelatin silver print

5 3/8 × 7 5/8" (13.7 × 19.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled

1980 · Gelatin silver print

12 5/16 × 17 5/16" (31.2 × 44.0 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Pictus Interruptus (Greece)

1979 · gelatin silver print

Image: 30 x 41.9 cm (11 13/16 x 16 1/2 in.); Paper: 40.5 x 50.7 cm (15 15/16 x 19 15/16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Couplets: Atlantic City

1969 · Gelatin silver print

Sheet: 9 × 6 1/16 in. (22.9 × 15.4 cm) Image: 8 1/2 × 5 1/2 in. (21.6 × 14 cm) Mount: 14 1/16 × 11 × 1/16 in. (35.7 × 27.9 × 0.2 cm)

Whitney Museum of American Art

Atlantic City

1968 · Gelatin silver print

9 1/8 × 6 5/8" (23.2 × 16.8 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Atlantic City

1968 · Gelatin silver print

9 × 6" (22.9 × 15.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

New York City

1968 · Gelatin silver print

6 × 8 3/4" (15.2 × 22.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Atlantic City (66 Ha-2) from the series Under the Boardwalk

1966 · gelatin silver print

Image: 15.2 x 15 cm (6 x 5 7/8 in.); Mounted: 22.8 x 22.9 cm (9 x 9 in.); Matted: 45.7 x 35.6 cm (18 x 14 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Untitled

1966 · Gelatin silver prints

12 3/8 × 15 7/8" (31.5 × 40.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Trolley Stop

1966 · Gelatin silver prints

40 1/2 × 35" (102.9 × 88.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled

1966 · Gelatin silver prints

32 5/16 × 35 3/16" (82 × 89.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Composites: Philadelphia (Apertures)

1965 · gelatin silver prints

Image: 36.5 x 57.7 cm (14 3/8 x 22 11/16 in.); Matted: 71.1 x 81.3 cm (28 x 32 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

New York City

1965 · Gelatin silver print

9 1/8 × 5 1/4" (23.5 × 13.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

1964 · Gelatin silver print

Sheet: 8 × 9 15/16 in. (20.3 × 25.2 cm) Image: 5 7/8 × 8 7/8 in. (14.9 × 22.5 cm)

Whitney Museum of American Art

1963 · Gelatin silver print

Sheet: 10 × 8 in. (25.4 × 20.3 cm) Image: 8 7/8 × 6 in. (22.5 × 15.2 cm)

Whitney Museum of American Art

1959 · gelatin silver print

Image: 21.1 x 21.7 cm (8 5/16 x 8 9/16 in.); Paper: 35.4 x 27.9 cm (13 15/16 x 11 in.); Matted: 45.7 x 35.6 cm (18 x 14 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

1958 · Gelatin silver print

Sheet: 10 × 8 1/16 in. (25.4 × 20.5 cm) Image: 7 5/8 × 7 1/2 in. (19.4 × 19.1 cm)

Whitney Museum of American Art

1958 · Gelatin silver print

Sheet: 7 15/16 × 9 15/16 in. (20.2 × 25.2 cm) Image: 5 13/16 × 8 7/16 in. (14.8 × 21.4 cm)

Whitney Museum of American Art

View all 29 artworks →

Artwork sources (3)

29 published of 45 catalogued · 28 with image

MoMA
16 publishedof 32 catalogued28 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
7 published
Whitney
6 published

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 7)

7 entries · 1 sources

Feste di Foglie (Tuscany)
1985 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Pictus Interruptus (Greece)
1979 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Atlantic City (66 Ha-2) from the series Under the Boardwalk
1966 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Composites: Philadelphia (Apertures)
1965 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
1989 MC-19
1989 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Chicago
1959 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
France
1989 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Artsy artist portrait

Artsy

The Loop: Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Loop: Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

5

Movements1

Collections4

Museum of Modern Art Cleveland Museum of Art Whitney Museum of American Art Artsy

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

In collection

Whitney Museum of American Art

Market

Auction sale history

Houses that have sold works by this artist at auction

Market

Auction History

Work	Auction House	Date	Estimate	Hammer Price
Untitled	Artsy	Mar 2025	$1,000 – $1,500	Unsold