Academia de Angola, School of Capoeira, Salvador, Bahia
<p>David Vestal studied painting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago before turning to photography in the late 1940s. He honed his craft under Sid Grossman at New York’s Photo League, a cooperative dedicated to documentary photography and social activism, but preferred depicting single moments to producing social interest photo essays. In this image, made on a trip to Brazil in 1960–61 (for a book that was never published), Vestal captured the joyous, blurred motion of students in a school of capoeira, a Brazilian martial art that combines dance and music. Hugh Edwards acquired 15 of Vestal’s photographs in 1965.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1961
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions
- Image: 22.7 × 34 cm (8 15/16 × 13 7/16 in.); Paper: 22.9 × 34.3 cm (9 1/16 × 13 9/16 in.); Mount: 56 × 45.6 cm (22 1/16 × 18 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- David Vestal
Artist
Photography
David Vestal was an American photographer whose black-and-white work, made primarily with a 35mm camera, emphasized direct observation and formal clarity in depicting urban and rural landscapes. Active from the 1950s onward, he developed a documentary aesthetic rooted in technical precision and the expressive potential of the print itself. Vestal taught photography and remained committed to the craft of darkroom printing throughout his career, resisting both commercial pressures and fashionable trends in the medium.
Full artist profile →More
More by David Vestal
West Melrose Street, Chicago
1972 · Gelatin silver print
Park Slope, Brooklyn, N.Y.
1971 · Gelatin silver print
Carroll Street, Brooklyn, N.Y.
1969 · Gelatin silver print
34th Street, New York City
1968 · Gelatin silver print
Salt Lake City, Utah
1966 · Gelatin silver print
West 22nd Street, New York
1963 · Gelatin silver print
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- David Vestal
- Year
- 1961
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions
- Image: 22.7 × 34 cm (8 15/16 × 13 7/16 in.); Paper: 22.9 × 34.3 cm (9 1/16 × 13 9/16 in.); Mount: 56 × 45.6 cm (22 1/16 × 18 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1961-112483
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified