ARTmonday: Photos of Girls At Play

If you follow ARTmonday you know I love atmospheric portraits of women. While I’ve blogged about a couple of wonderful photographers who concentrate on photographing children, namely their own, such as Winky Lewis and Kathleen Schwartz, I haven’t yet done a full post of images featuring kids.

In honor of summer, here are photographs of girls at play, including one I just spotted a few minutes ago on Facebook. So nice to have artistic friends! (Sorry Stephen Sheffield that I couldn’t include your guys. I love those FB pics; boys up next!) I love that in this post I was able to mix friends and colleagues with iconic superstars, along with a piece I bought from the SMFA sale last year.

kathleen-schwartz-pond-princess

Kathleen Schwartz

andrea-tese-girl

Andrea Tese

vladimir-arkhipov-sleeping-girl

Vladimir Arkhipov

sally-mann-stream

Sally Mann

michael-j-lee-girl-in-frog-pond-bosotn

Michael J. Lee

julie-blackmon-chaise

Julie Blackmon

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Joanna Tam

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Winky Lewis

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Richard Brocken

robert-knight-in-undies

Robert Knight

little-girl-in-grand-central-station-joanna-goddard-cup-of-jo

Joanna Goddard

austris-jaudzems-girl

Austris Jaudzems

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Sndeeon Studios

ARTmonday: Winky Lewis

I have fallen hard for Portland, Maine-based photographer Winky Lewis. The portraits of her children are reminiscent of the photographs of my very first photo crush, Sally Mann. They’re also somewhat similar to photos taken by my friend Kathleen Schwartz of her fairy tale children. They also remind me of a photograph that hangs in my bedroom; the first portrait I ever purchased (you can see it at the end of this post). I love evocative black and white portraits of children and their fairy tale lives. Winky Lewis’ photographs are stunning and insightful.  She also happened to photograph my friend Sharon Kitchens‘ homestead for a Boston Globe story I wrote, but I’ll save that for another time.

Photograph By Winky Lewis

Photograph By Winky Lewis

Photograph By Winky Lewis

Photograph By Winky Lewis

Photograph By Winky Lewis

Photograph By Winky Lewis

 

 

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Photograph By Winky Lewis

Photograph By Winky Lewis

Photograph By Winky Lewis

Photograph By Winky Lewis

Photograph By Winky Lewis

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Photograph By Winky Lewis

Photograph By Winky Lewis

Photograph By Winky Lewis

 

 


Photograph By Winky Lewis

Photographs By Winky Lewis

Self Portrait By Winky Lewis

 Winky Lewis (with her son) (and her camera) 

* * *

I think this is the first portrait I ever purchased. I bought it in the early ’90s at an auction at Little Red Schoolhouse / Elizabeth Irwin, a progressive school in NYC, whose alumni includes artists and artists’ kids. I remember seeing works by Francisco Clemente there. Those were certainly not in my budget. This photo was taken by one of the women who worked in the office of the school; it pictures her nieces. I still love it. It hangs above my bedside table.

photo-of-two-young-girls

ARTmonday: Kathleen Schwartz

I knew my friend Kathleen Schwartz (Katie to her friends) took gorgeous pictures of her kids. Their pale cheeks, long mermaid hair, and the idyllic beach and forest settings all added to the images she captured so beautifully. But it’s the quirkier shots that I love, with the girls in their fairy costumes just going about their day, and the interiors from their big old house in Maine, with its high ceilings, tall windows, crystal chandeliers, and sailboat seat. The photo of the yellow living room caught my eye this morning, reminding me of Tina Barney photographs. I started browsing through Katie’s collection and was immediately drawn in.