Harold Haliday Costain
"An Architectural Abstraction," World's Fair, 1933, Chicago, Ill.1933

Not on view

Sepia-toned photograph, extreme upward angle of a curved and ridged architectural or mechanical form, strong directional light casting diagonal shadows

Artist or Maker: Harold Haliday Costain
Title: "An Architectural Abstraction," World's Fair, 1933, Chicago, Ill.
Place Made: United States
Date Made: 1933
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Dimensions: Image: 13 3/4 × 10 3/4 in. (34.93 × 27.31 cm) Primary support: 13 3/4 × 10 3/4 in. (34.93 × 27.31 cm) Secondary support: 14 1/2 × 10 7/8 in. (36.83 × 27.62 cm) Tertiary Support: 17 × 13 1/4 in. (43.18 × 33.66 cm) Mat: 22 × 18 in. (55.88 × 45.72 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Ralph M. Parsons Fund
Accession Number: M.2001.54
Classification: Photographs
Collecting Area: Photography
Curatorial Notes: Harold Haliday Costain established a photography studio in Scarsdale, New York, in the mid-1920s. Having studied graphic design, he specialized in advertising, architectural, and industrial photography, and his work was featured in such publications as House and Garden, Town & Country Magazine, U.S. Camera, Modern Photography, and Fortune. Costain’s skills were an exact match for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, also known as the Century of Progress International Exposition, in which photography played an important role. The medium was not only a vehicle for documenting the fair’s ambitious displays but also a significant exhibit in its own right. Photographic innovations were prominently showcased, reflecting the fair’s theme of technological and scientific advancement. Additionally, photographs served as powerful promotional tools, capturing the futuristic architecture and vibrant cultural displays of the fair, and spreading its vision of progress and optimism to audiences far beyond Chicago.

Costain’s attention was drawn to the Chrysler Motors Building, designed by Holabird & Root in an Art Deco–inflected modernist style. He tilted his camera upward, capturing sunlight and shadow at play on the corrugated, white facade. The underside of a portico roof creates an opaque, dark area at left, balancing Costain’s “architectural abstraction.”

Britt Salvesen

2024

Harold Haliday Costain
"An Architectural Abstraction," World's Fair, 1933, Chicago, Ill.1933

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Harold Haliday Costain
Title: "An Architectural Abstraction," World's Fair, 1933, Chicago, Ill.
Place Made: United States
Date Made: 1933
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Dimensions: Image: 13 3/4 × 10 3/4 in. (34.93 × 27.31 cm) Primary support: 13 3/4 × 10 3/4 in. (34.93 × 27.31 cm) Secondary support: 14 1/2 × 10 7/8 in. (36.83 × 27.62 cm) Tertiary Support: 17 × 13 1/4 in. (43.18 × 33.66 cm) Mat: 22 × 18 in. (55.88 × 45.72 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Ralph M. Parsons Fund
Accession Number: M.2001.54
Classification: Photographs
Collecting Area: Photography
Curatorial Notes: Harold Haliday Costain established a photography studio in Scarsdale, New York, in the mid-1920s. Having studied graphic design, he specialized in advertising, architectural, and industrial photography, and his work was featured in such publications as House and Garden, Town & Country Magazine, U.S. Camera, Modern Photography, and Fortune. Costain’s skills were an exact match for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, also known as the Century of Progress International Exposition, in which photography played an important role. The medium was not only a vehicle for documenting the fair’s ambitious displays but also a significant exhibit in its own right. Photographic innovations were prominently showcased, reflecting the fair’s theme of technological and scientific advancement. Additionally, photographs served as powerful promotional tools, capturing the futuristic architecture and vibrant cultural displays of the fair, and spreading its vision of progress and optimism to audiences far beyond Chicago.

Costain’s attention was drawn to the Chrysler Motors Building, designed by Holabird & Root in an Art Deco–inflected modernist style. He tilted his camera upward, capturing sunlight and shadow at play on the corrugated, white facade. The underside of a portico roof creates an opaque, dark area at left, balancing Costain’s “architectural abstraction.”

Britt Salvesen

2024