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285
robert frank (1924)
Ben James, Miner from Caerau, Wales 1953
Printed by the artist and signed, 1979
Épreuve argentique, 247x337 mm, signée, coloration brune
Gelatin silver print, signed, artist wetstamps, print date, annotations
verso, brownish colour
In March 1953, Frank travelled to Caerau, a mining village in Glamorgan,
South Wales. He decided to create a series of photographs based around the daily
life of the 53-year-old Ben James, who had worked down the pits since he was
14. Frank followed James into the mines. The Caerau colliery was already in
decline, and employed a fraction of the workforce it had supported 30 years
earlier.
When Frank's photographs were published in U.S. Camera magazine in 1955,
he wrote: 'I could have followed a livelier and perhaps more colourful Welsh
miner but I'm happy I decided to portray Ben James. When I said farewell to
him I realised that no future story on any Welsh miner will look as this one
does.' (Tate Modern, Storylines, 2003).
286
robert frank (1924)
Pablo was born in February, 1951
Printed by the artst in the early 1960’s
Épreuve argentique des années 1960, 247x337 mm, belle et grande
signature au crayon au verso
Gelatin silver print, signed and titled in pencil verso, «Robert Frank,
Miles 1951»
A nice early print of an intimate portrait, with a large signature verso.