Friday, September 13, 2013

It's Been Rainy A Lot Lately


Doubtful Weather by Nancy Ford Cones. 1911 Gum Print

Not much to say this week. The weather has been changing between hot and sunny to cool torrential rainfalls. In the image above, we see a boy, girl and a dog, gathered around the base of a tree, wondering if it is going to downpour.

This is a vintage 1911 gum print by Loveland, Ohio photographer Nancy Ford Cones. Cones was a very prolific pictorialist photographer. Her work was very popular with camera manufacturers for advertising purposes. Her work also appeared in numerous home magazines of the day. She worked with her husband, James Cones. Together they photographed friends, family, and neighbors in pastoral scenes, showing the simple country life. Cones took second place behind Edward Steichen and bested Alfred Steiglitz, in a 1905 photographic competition sponsored by Eastman Kodak. Her work is in numerous museums and collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Art Institute of Chicago.