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18 Happenings in 6 Parts, Reuben Gallery, New York, October 1959

18 Happenings in 6 Parts, Reuben Gallery, New York, October 1959

Fred W. McDarrah
American, 1926–2007
1959 (printed 1992)
A gelatin silver photograph that records a moment from a 1959 gallery “Happening,” aiming to preserve the ephemeral act of painting as performance.
The image strikes you with its off‑balance, intimate framing — a cropped figure bent mid‑gesture, a paint roller leaving vertical drips on a pale surface, and the soft grain of black‑and‑white film that makes the action feel immediate and lived‑in.
As documentation of an early Happening, this print shows how photography became essential for capturing and legitimizing performance art and for signaling a shift from object‑based art to time‑based, participatory practices.
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
composition: 7 3/8 x 7 3/8" (18.7 x 18.7 cm); sheet: 9 15/16 x 8" (25.3 x 20.3 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the Estate of Fred W. McDarrah
Accession
1216.2013.10
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
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