Two separate photographers captured cross-country vision of a nation
The Brandywine Museum will look at mid-20th century American life through two similar yet distinctive perspectives with its upcoming exhibit, “Robert Frank and Todd Webb: Across America, 1955.”
In 1955, two photographers received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation for U.S. survey projects: Robert Frank and Todd Webb. Though the men had no knowledge of each other during the application process, their cross-country surveys show both remarkable similarities and stark differences.
In some instances, Frank’s and Webb’s images are strikingly similar—both men took photographs of the highway and dim, smoky barrooms. Because each was unaware of the other’s work, these similarities can be traced to popular cultural trends and shared ideologies. Both men, after all, engaged in projects that challenged the idealistic purity of the “American Roadtrip.” Radically different photographs made in the same location reveal the photographers’ diverse perspectives and approaches.
Frank’s grainy, off-kilter style was matched with his harsh examination of the darker side of American life. An immigrant born in Switzerland, Frank (1924–2019) harnessed his outsider perspective. The tender, carefully composed images created by Detroit-born Webb (1905–2000) celebrated the individual oddities of the American way of life. Ultimately, comparing the work of these photographers reveals the complexity of their projects and the impossibility of capturing a singular vision of “America.”
The Brandwine Museum is at 1 Hoffman’s Mill Road, Chadds Ford. The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Admission is $20 adults, $18 seniors (65+), $8 children ages 6-18 and students with ID.
Free for children ages five and under and members of the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art.
