A. Aubrey Bodine's Farm Photography Showcases Mid-20th Century Artistic Legacy
The availability of A. Aubrey Bodine's 1952 photograph "On the Farm with Mrs. Roland A. Bosee and Children" highlights the enduring significance of his pioneering pictorialist work that blended documentary photography with artistic manipulation.
The photographic work of A. Aubrey Bodine (1906-1970), regarded in photographic circles worldwide as one of the finest pictorialists of the twentieth century, continues to demonstrate the artistic potential of photography through images like "On the Farm with Mrs. Roland A. Bosee and Children" from 1952. This particular photograph, featuring young Dolly who had been riding horses for half her ten years while exploring fields, represents Bodine's unique approach to documentary photography that transcended typical newspaper standards through artistic design and lighting effects.
Bodine's career, which began in 1923 when he started covering stories for the Baltimore Sunday Sun, involved extensive travel throughout Maryland to create remarkable documentary pictures of various occupations and activities. His consistent success in national and international salon competitions against top competition established his reputation as a photographer who believed photography could be a creative discipline. This philosophical approach led him to study art principles at the Maryland Institute College of Art, treating his camera and darkroom equipment as artistic tools comparable to a painter's brush or sculptor's chisel.
The technical craftsmanship Bodine developed through constant experimentation distinguishes his work significantly. Some of his best pictures were composed directly in the camera's viewfinder, while others involved elaborate darkroom manipulations including working on negatives with dyes, intensifiers, pencil markings, and even scraping to achieve desired effects. His practice of photographically adding clouds and performing other technical alterations reflected his artistic rationale that, like painters working from models, he selected features that suited his sense of mood, proportion, and design. For Bodine, the final picture mattered more than the process of creating it—he didn't take pictures but made them.
The ongoing accessibility of Bodine's work through https://www.aaubreybodine.com ensures the preservation of his artistic legacy, with more than 6,000 photographs spanning his 47-year career available for viewing and purchase. The website also hosts the full text of Harold A. Williams' biography "A Legend In His Time," written shortly after Bodine's death by his editor and closest friend, providing comprehensive insight into the photographer's remarkable career and artistic philosophy.