From the North Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge San Francisco and Nob Hill San Francisco

1947 - Photography (Photography)

John Gutmann

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Gutmann’s photographs Untitled Nob Hill and From the North Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge are some of the oldest pieces in the Kadist Collection and serve as historical anchors for many of the more recent works. Distinctly modernist in style, the photos depict two of San Francisco’s most recognizable sites—the affluent neighborhood of Nob Hill and the iconic Golden Gate Bridge—through extremely estranged angles and balanced compositions. Moreover, these two images are representative of Gutmann’s work inasmuch as they epitomize two of the photographer’s visual obsessions: the automobile and the city of San Francisco.

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Upon arriving in the United States, German-born photographer and painter John Gutmann began taking pictures for several German magazines. This allowed him to extensively document American life in first half of the twentieth century. Fascinated by the city’s cultural life and, in particular, the jazz music scene, Gutmann settled in San Francisco in 1933 and remained there for most of the rest of his life.

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Colors:

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• golden_gate_bridge.n.01
• view_angle.n.01
• modernism.n.01
• car.n.01
• san_francisco.n.01
• landmark.n.01
• germany
• united states
• german-american
• monochrome