Difficult Journey

Inscriptions

Signed and dated, on mount, lower right, in graphite: Witt51; numbered, on mount, lower left, in graphite: 1/25; Signed and inscribed, on mount, bottom left edge, in graphite: "Difficult Journey" 1951 c(circled) 1976 Bill Witt; inscribed, on mount, on reverse, lower left, in graphite: SPC 1450 / WWMS-101.03 3000; inscribed, on mount, on reverse, lower right, in graphite: Witt inventory # 12-14-94-9

Label

William Witt depicts an anonymous person with a physical disability walking down a long corridor. The figure is silhouetted because of the intense backlighting; the walls of the hallway serve as a frame that confines the person to this space. The title, Difficult Journey, indicates that Witt sees his subject as struggling to get down the hallway. How do the picture’s title and framing affect how you view the person? Might the person in this photo disagree with Witt choosing to call this image Difficult Journey?

From the 2021 exhibition A Space for Dialogue 103, Images of Disability, curated by Maeve McBride '20, Conroy Intern

Exhibition History

A Space for Dialogue, Images of Disability, Maeve McBride, Dartmouth Class of 2020, Conroy Intern, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, October 9–December 19, 2021.

Provenance

Marina and Andrew E. Lewin, New York, New York; given to present collection, 2018.

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Subjects