Lavenson, Alma, 1897-1989

The photographer Alma Lavenson was born in San Francisco. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, her family moved to Oakland where her father opened a dry goods store. By the 1920s, Lavenson had become a professional photographer and was acquainted with other well-known photographers who were experimenting with new camera techniques and subject matter. Her meeting with Edward Weston and friendship with Imogen Cunningham influenced her work to move away from a soft, lyrical quality towards more abstract and austere imagery. In the 1930s, she began photographing California Mother Lode sites to record "those remaining bits and fragments which still speak of ... the [18]50s and [18]60s." One of Lavenson's photographs, "American Indian," was among those selected for the esteemed Family of Man show that was held at New York's Museum of Modern Art (1955). She married Matthew Wahrhaftig.

From the description of Alma Lavenson papers, 1855-1985. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 74985235