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Burden, Shirley.
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Restricted access; Manuscripts and Archives Division; Permit must be requested at the division indicated.
The collection reflects Shirley Carter Burden's post-WorldWar II career as a commercial architectural photographer and fine art photographer, particularly his publications and exhibitions. Correspondence, negative indexes, reviews, contracts, gift lists, proof copies and referencematerials document the publication of Behold thy Mother, The Chairs, God Is My Life, I Wonder Why, Presence and TheVanderbilts in My Life, and projects concerning Ellis Island. Exhibitions of Burden's work and other projects are documented in correspondence, royalty and shipping receipts, exhibition floor plans, publicity material, invitations to openings, reviews, and a guest book. The collection also contains miscellaneous correspondence; business records; records of his private collection; and subject files on other photographers, particularly Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams. Also present is a phonograph recording of Burden's 1965 interview on "Open End" about Behold thy Mother. Some of Burden's photographs are scattered throughout the collection.
Shirley Carter Burden (1908-1989), a descendant of Cornelius Vanderbilt, was a prominent American photographer, best known for his pictorial essays exploring aspects of Catholic culture, racial intolerance,and architectural heritage. Burden promoted the appreciation of photography through service on the boards and advisory committees of several museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, and was a long-time supporter and chairman of the board of Aperture. Colleagues and friends included, among others, Edward Steichen, Dorothea Lange, Ansel Adams, Minor White, and Thomas Merton.
Music Visualizations, Synchoric Orchestra dancing Schubert's Unfinished Symphony ... (1919). Dance Division.
One of 700,000 pictures in the NYPL Digital Gallery
