An accomplished painter before immigrating to the United States as a photo-reporter in 1933, Gutmann sought characteristically American scenes to record and send back to his agency. The movable freestanding elevator garage he discovered in Chicago allowed him to convey with witty and stylish economy the ubiquity of the motorcar, the vertical compression of urban space, and the technological solutions of the modern American metropolis.
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Inscription: Signed and inscribed on print, verso UL: "John Gutmann // San Francisco, California"; inscribed on print, verso UR: "210.11"; inscribed on print, verso lower edge: "Parking Tower in Chicago 1936"; inscribed on print, verso LL: "210.11";
[Fraenkel Gallery]; John C. Waddell (October 28, 1985).
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–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–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–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–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–August 4, 1991.
IVAM, Centre Julio Gonzalez, Valencia. "The New Vision, IVAM, Centre Julio Gonzalez, Valencia," January 20, 1995–March 26, 1995.
Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno. "Maquinas," September 19, 2000–November 19, 2000.
Fundacio La Caixa. "Maquinas," December 19, 2000–February 4, 2001.
Victoria and Albert Museum. "Art Deco 1910-1939," March 27, 2003–July 28, 2003.
Royal Ontario Museum. "Art Deco 1910-1939," September 15, 2003–January 4, 2004.
Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "Art Deco 1910-1939," March 13, 2004–July 5, 2004.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "Art Deco 1910-1939," September 19, 2004–January 9, 2005.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Reimagining Modernism - Photographs Rotation 2," November 17, 2014–March 16, 2015.
Hambourg, Maria Morris. The New Vision: Photography between the World Wars, Ford Motor Company Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1989. no. 17.
John Gutmann (American (born Germany), Breslau 1905–1998 San Francisco, California)
1934, printed later
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