
Begonia Leaf
1974 · Gelatin silver print
Image/paper: 24.7 × 34.3 cm (9 3/4 × 13 9/16 in.); Mount: 39.1 × 49.1 cm (15 7/16 × 19 3/8 in.)
Art Institute of Chicago

Walter Chappell was an American photographer known for luminous black-and-white images that emphasized tonal subtlety and geometric composition. Active from the 1950s onward, he developed a distinctive approach to landscape and still-life photography that prioritized the material qualities of light and surface. His work belongs to the postwar tradition of fine-art photography that treated the medium as a vehicle for formal investigation rather than documentation.
Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 26d ago