Robert Frank and Todd Webb: Across America, 1955
Robert Frank, Parade, Hoboken, New Jersey, 1955–56, printed 1972–77, gelatin silver print, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Target Collection of American Photography, Museum purchase funded by Target Stores. © The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation
Written by Max Wiener
Photo Edited by Lyz Rider
Robert Frank and Todd Webb are in their own league. Few photographers have such an uncanny ability to place themselves in a given world and capture it as is, leaving seemingly no room for speculation. Their lenses are responsible for some of the most iconic photographs of the twentieth century, and through their eyes and cameras we see lands we can only dream of exploring. Flipping through their images feels like tiny vacations, each photograph transporting us to a different world and deeply placing us within the surroundings.
Robert Frank, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1955, gelatin silver print, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Target Collection of American Photography, Museum purchase funded by Target Stores. © The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation
Todd Webb, Garden City, KS, 1955, printed 2023, inkjet print, courtesy of Todd Webb Archive. © Todd Webb Archive
At Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts, their photographic efforts are placed in tandem and presented as Robert Frank and Todd Webb: Across America, 1955, examining their unique work on the subject. Originally designed as fieldwork for their Guggenheim fellowships, both artists used their incredible talents to show America’s raw form through uncultured images. Their black and white masterpieces are part of a much larger fabric of the forgotten zeitgeist of America’s underbelly, but through them it feels all the more present. The series is scheduled to run through January 7th.
Robert Frank, Rodeo, New York City, 1955–56, gelatin silver print, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by Jerry E. and Nanette Finger. © The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation
Todd Webb, Cowboy, Lexington, NE, 1956, printed 2023, inkjet print, courtesy of Todd Webb Archive. © Todd Webb Archive
At the onset of their journey through America, Frank and Webb had no knowledge of each other. When placed together, however, it appears as if the two had been feeding off of each other for years; there is a tremendous amount of overlap. Both photographers are adept at showing the sheer breadth of the American landscape, from the highways and deserts and even the smoky saloons, where the storybook characters from our dreams haunt their own photographic realities. In their images, worlds that once seemed so foreign become approachable, providing us an education that we never thought we would get.
Robert Frank, Bar, Las Vegas, Nevada, 1955–56, gelatin silver print, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase. © The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation
Todd Webb, Joe, Abiquiú, NM, 1955, printed 2023, inkjet print, courtesy of Todd Webb Archive. © Todd Webb Archive
Frank’s signature style is much more undoctored than Webb’s artistic vision. He places no focal point in his photograph, simply inviting us into the image and giving us a role in his world. Nothing is staged, but rather recorded, and his subjects seem invisible to the fact that their lives have been invaded by the lens of a Leica. Webb’s beautifully staged, thought-out work has a tremendous amount of merit in it as well; one shouldn’t be distracted by the paramount works of Frank. In Webb’s world, the minutiae – from the intricacies to the oddities – is the center of focus, displaying the whim of what was then the typical American way of life. If Frank shows the dark underbelly, Webb is the ray of sunshine, and the two-sided coin that is Across America, 1955 is truly one of the most fascinating looks into American life.
Todd Webb, Diner, Ouray, CO, 1955, printed 2023, inkjet print, courtesy of Todd Webb Archive. © Todd Webb Archive
Frank’s work from this trip would go on to be published as The Americans, the seminal photography book of the twentieth century. Webb’s work remained largely unknown, although his mastery was never questioned. Together, they uncloud the mysteries of American life in ways only true artisans can.
