Chicago, Illinois
1981 · Gelatin silver print
Image: 27.8 × 26.7 cm (11 × 10 9/16 in.); Paper: 35.3 × 27.9 cm (13 15/16 × 11 in.)
Art Institute of Chicago
WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture
David Plowden
American, 1932
Photography
Representation
None documented
1
Institutional Exhibitions
133
Works in Collection
137
Assets Indexed
2
Authority-backed Facts
0
Publications Referenced
70%
Profile Completeness
Cultural Positioning
Movements
No movements recorded
Related Artists
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Selected Institutional Exhibitions
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Views over America
Museum of Modern Art, New York
1979
About
Why this artist matters now
David Plowden is an American photographer who has devoted over six decades to documenting the industrial and infrastructural landscape of North America. Working primarily in black-and-white, he creates large-format photographs of railways, bridges, grain elevators, and vernacular architecture at the threshold of obsolescence. His work combines technical mastery of the photographic medium with a restraint that allows the subject matter to maintain its own dignity and presence. Plowden's photographs are held in major collections including the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 25d ago
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Photography
Related Artists
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Institutional
Museum Collections
Canonical record
Artworks (133)
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Images
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Institutional
Representation & Collections
In collection
Art Institute of Chicago
In collection
Museum of Modern Art
New York, US
Record