Art/ Collection/ Art Object
Search

[Explosion of the Hindenburg, Lakehurst, New Jersey, May 6, 1937]

Artist:
Charles Hoff (American, 1905–1975)
Date:
1937
Medium:
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions:
27.6 x 34.5 cm (10 7/8 x 13 9/16 in.)
Classification:
Photographs
Credit Line:
Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987
Accession Number:
1987.1100.32
Not on view
On May 6, 1937, twenty-two news photographers gathered in Lakehurst, New Jersey to record the landing of the Hindenburg after its eleventh transatlatic crossing. The giant silver vessel floated in from the Atlantic at dusk, when suddenly flames shot out from the hull, setting off a spectacular explosion that left thirty-six dead. Charles Hoff, on assignment for the Daily News, made only one exposure during the forty-seven seconds in which the Hindenburg disappear in flames. His film holder was immediately flown to Newark, where a waiting messenger picked it up and rushed it to the newspaper's darkroom. The next day, Hoff's photograph, and others like it, startled millions around the world.
Inscription: Inscribed in pencil, verso UL [sideways]: "St"; 3 illegible letters inscribed in negative on print, recto UR;
[Edwynn Houk to Waddell, February 3, 1984]; John C. Waddell

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The New Vision: Photography between the World Wars. The Ford Motor Company Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art," September 23, 1989–December 31, 1989.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. "The New Vision: Photography between the World Wars. The Ford Motor Company Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 28, 1990–April 22, 1990.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "The New Vision: Photography between the World Wars. The Ford Motor Company Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 10, 1990–July 15, 1990.

High Museum of Art. "The New Vision: Photography between the World Wars. The Ford Motor Company Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 5, 1991–April 28, 1991.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "The New Vision: Photography between the World Wars. The Ford Motor Company Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art," June 8, 1991–August 4, 1991.

IVAM, Centre Julio Gonzalez, Valencia. "The New Vision, IVAM, Centre Julio Gonzalez, Valencia," January 20, 1995–March 26, 1995.

Negative date: May 6, 1937

Timelines
The United States and Canada, 1900 A.D.–present

The New Vision: Photography between the World Wars. The Ford Motor Company Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
"Photography Between the Wars: Selections from the Ford Motor Company Collection": The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 45, no. 4 (Spring, 1988)

Related Objects

11:00 A.M. Monday, May 9th, 1910. Newsies at Skeeter's Branch, Jefferson near Franklin. They were all smoking. Location: St. Louis, Missouri.

Artist: Lewis Hine (American, 1874–1940) Date: May 9, 1910 Medium: Gelatin silver print Accession: 1970.727.1 On view in:Not on view

Port Authority

Artist: Ray K. Metzker (American, 1931–2014) Date: 1966–67 Medium: Gelatin silver print Accession: 1990.1083 On view in:Not on view

Still from an Untitled Film

Artist: Cindy Sherman (American, born Glen Ridge, New Jersey, 1954) Date: 1978 Medium: Gelatin silver print Accession: 1992.5147 On view in:Not on view

[Brancusi's Studio]

Artist: Edward J. Steichen (American (born Luxembourg), Bivange 1879–1973 West Redding, Connecticut) Date: ca. 1920 Medium: Gelatin silver print Accession: 1992.5149 On view in:Not on view

El Morocco, New York

Artist: Garry Winogrand (American, 1928–1984) Date: 1955 Medium: Gelatin silver print Accession: 1992.5107 On view in:Not on view
A curatorial staff member looks at an ink drawing using a magnifying lens

Who Oversees the Collection?

Learn more about the 17 curatorial departments whose staff study, exhibit, and care for the objects in The Met collection.

Two staff members of the Department of Objects Conservation inspect an artwork from The Met collection

Conservation and Scientific Research

Scientists and conservators collaborate with curators across the Museum to study, preserve, and conserve the works in The Met's unparalleled collection.

Cover of Guide featuring painting of a man

The Met Guide

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide provides a comprehensive view of art history spanning five millennia and the entire globe.

Drawing of a writer at his desk

The Met's Blogs

Read articles about the Museum's exhibitions, collection, and events written by hundreds of authors—including curators, conservators, librarians, digital professionals, and senior staff.