First Day of Spring, New Hampshire

Virginia Beahan, First Day of Spring, New Hampshire, 2005, chromogenic print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Haluk and Elisa Soykan, 2010.6.3, © Virginia Beahan
Copied Virginia Beahan, First Day of Spring, New Hampshire, 2005, chromogenic print, 18 1⁄2 x 23 3⁄8 in. (46.8 x 59.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Haluk and Elisa Soykan, 2010.6.3, © Virginia Beahan

Artwork Details

Title
First Day of Spring, New Hampshire
Artist
Date
2005
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
18 1⁄2 x 23 3⁄8 in. (46.8 x 59.4 cm)
Copyright
© Virginia Beahan
Credit Line
Gift of Haluk and Elisa Soykan
Mediums Description
chromogenic print
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure(s) in exterior
  • Figure female — elderly
  • Landscape — New Hampshire
  • Landscape — season — spring
  • Landscape — weather — snow
Object Number
2010.6.3
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2010.6.3

Artwork Description

The act of making photographs opened a new kind of dialogue between Virginia Beahan and her mother, who suffered from dementia and could no longer care for herself:
My mother responded to being photographed—she liked the attention. A natural flirt, that sideof her nature came out in the pictures—like a teenager preening for a date. There wassomething about the self she became in front of the camera that revealed more than a failing old woman, and the act of photographing became a special transaction between us. I felt anunexpected appreciation for the intimacy of the exchange. We had made a kind of peace.

Close to Home: Photographers and their Families, 2011