Heinrich Kühn: The Perfect Photograph March 6–May 30, 2011
Heinrich Kühn, Carafe and Flowers (Karaffe mit Blumen), c. 1913, bromoil print, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of Manfred Heiting, the Manfred Heiting Collection.
Heinrich Kühn, In the Studio (Im Atelier), no date, multiple bromoil transfer print, the MFAH.
Heinrich Kühn, Mary Warner on a White Chair (Mary Warner auf weißem Stuhl),
c. 1910, gum bichromate over platinum print, the MFAH.
Heinrich Kühn, Walther and Lotte at the Easel (Walther und Lotte an der Staffelei),
1909, gum bichromate print, the MFAH.
![Heinrich Kühn, On a Meadow in Birgitz (Hans and Mary Sitting) [Wiese in Birgitz (Hans und Mary sitzend)], c. 1908, gum bichromate print, the MFAH.](https://static.mfah.com/images/kuhn-exhibitions-4.13023254525316088363.jpg?width=1680){kind=link}
Heinrich Kühn, On a Meadow in Birgitz (Hans and Mary Sitting) [Wiese in Birgitz (Hans und Mary sitzend)],
c. 1908, gum bichromate print, the MFAH.
Heinrich Kühn, Mary Warner and Edeltrude (Mary Warner und Edeltrude), c. 1908, autochrome.
© Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Bildarchiv, Vienna
Heinrich Kühn, A Summer Day (Sommertag), 1898, gum bichromate print, the MFAH.
Houston is the only U.S. venue for the first major retrospective devoted to Austrian photographer and scientist Heinrich Kühn. An important figure in the international Pictorialist movement of the early 1900s, Kühn (1866–1944) is closely linked to Americans Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen. The Pictorialists elevated photography from a strictly commercial venture to an accepted artistic medium, and in his early photographs Kühn created the atmospheric effects of Impressionist paintings. He became particularly skilled in processes that gave him the freedom to manipulate aspects of the picture such as tones and details, and to print on papers with varied textures. At times, the photographs had the character of etchings or charcoal drawings.
Kühn became renowned for the simple elegance of his compositions and for subjects ranging from intimate portraits and nudes to still lifes and rural scenes. Through more than 100 photographs, Heinrich Kühn: The Perfect Photograph showcases the photographer’s expert use of light, composition, and color motifs.
This exhibition is organized by the Albertina, Vienna.
Generous funding is provided by:
Mr. James Edward Maloney and Mr. Carey Chambers Maloney
The Margaret Cooke Skidmore Endowed Exhibition Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Richard S. Jackson
Mr. and Mrs. James G. Munisteri
Mr. and Mrs. Alexander K. McLanahan
Joan and Stanford Alexander
Ms. Carey C. Shuart