Man in Shower
PhotographerPhotographed by
Harriet V. S. Thorne
(American, 1843 - 1926)
Dateabout 1905
MediumPhotography; gelatin emulsion on glass
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 6 13/16 x 5in. (17.3 x 12.7cm)
Plate (height x width): 7 x 5in. (17.8 x 12.7cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineGift of the Rosalie Thorne McKenna Foundation
Object number2011.344.21
DescriptionNude man from the back and side in the shower. The man's shadow is visible on the wall to his left.
Collections
Location: Tentatively identified as a shower at Schoonhoven.
"Schoonhoven" was the Thornes' name for their summer home on Black Rock Point in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It was designed in 1881 either by Stanford White or Bruce Price and was completed in the summer of 1882. It was the largest individually-owned property on the point, and featured a nine-hole golf course, a bowling alley, a wharf, vegetable and flower gardens and St. Mary's by-the-Sea chapel. Schoonhoven was home to Harriet's photography studio, packed with props, costumes, backdrops and furniture. A fire gutted the top story in 1903 and after Jonathan's death in 1920, Harriet closed the studio, asked her sons to dispose of its contents. She moved to Bridgehampton, New York, for the summer months. The estate changed hands at least twice after 1920 before being razed sometime in the twentieth century.
From "Black Rock: A Bicentennial Picture Book" (Dick Jones, Charles W. Brilvitch), articles in the Bridgeport Standard (January 5, 1881, May 16, 1882) and the Bridgeport Post (September 9, 1903), and Rollie Thorne McKenna's essay for the 1979 Yale exhibition.
Status
Not on view
