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Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs

Call Number

2008.013

Dates

1968 to 2008, inclusive
; 1973-1985, bulk

Creator

Fornasieri Gold, Lucille (Role: Photographer)
Fornasieri Gold, Lucille (Role: Donor)

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet in one document box

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Abstract

The 93 color and black and white and color photographs by amateur street photographer, Lucille Fornasieri Gold, were taken between 1968 and 2008. Gold's work is dominated by portraits of people who are posed and unposed, in the midst of various activities mostly in Brooklyn, but also in Manhattan and New Jersey. Item-level description and digital versions of images from the collection are available for searching via our online image database.

Biographical note

Lucille Fornasieri Gold was born in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn in 1930. Her father, a professor of architectural studies, first exposed her to photography as a child. She attended Hunter College and later took classes at the Art Student League.

Gold started photographing with a Leica camera in 1968, while her children were in school. She would develop and print in the kitchen darkroom of her home in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. When she moved, she lost her darkroom and while her negatives were processed, they remained unprinted for years. Starting in the 1990s, she and her second husband, Jack Gold, scanned the negatives, repaired lost detail due to deterioriation using Adobe Photoshop, and printed a curated set of photographs with their home printer. In 2002, Gold retired from the jewelry business and continued to work only on her photography. She moved on to photograph with a digital SLR and continued to review her older negatives for inclusion in curated series. Mrs. Gold died while visiting her son in New Jersey in April 2016.

She said of her photography: "There is always a movement, a gesture, an interesting or bizarre juxtaposition, a color or combination of colors that create a renewed impulse to see. I engage the social and moral questions, but I don't try to answer them. Ultimately there are no answers. When I'm photographing I feel the weight of the antecedents, the spirals of time, the evolution of thought and science."

Her work is also part of the Brooklyn Museum collection. She won first prize in a Con Edison contest called "My Brooklyn," was featured in exhibitions including a group show at Powerhouse Arena and a solo show at the Chelsea Market, and her work has been reprinted in various publications. Around 2008, she self-published three collections of her photography: "Old City," "Young City," and "Brooklyn Doggie."

System of Arrangement

The photographs in print and digital format were donated by the photographer in no particular order by subject, date, or location. Prints and digital files were given matching object identification numbers and are stored in a document box; the digital files are stored on a networked server.

Scope and Contents

The photographs in this collection are documentary in subject matter of a variety of neighborhoods in Brooklyn as well as Manhattan and New Jersey. The subject matter consists of street scenes, children, dogs, twins, and cityscapes in a style and perspective influenced by the photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gary Winogrand, and Lisette Modell. Neighborhoods represented include Flatbush (New York, N.Y.), Prospect Park (New York, N.Y.), Coney Island (New York, N.Y.), and the Lower East Side (New York, N.Y.), and the predominant years are 1970 - 1985. The photographs are both color and black and white. All prints are 8" x 10"; the digital files are 300dpi tifs.

Conditions Governing Access

Open to researchers without restriction.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright held by Lucille Fornasieri Gold until her death. All uses beyond fair use requires a licensing agreement as per Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Patrons should contact the photographer to receive licensing permissions.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date (if known); Lucille Fornasieri-Gold photographs, 2008.013, [object id]; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Photograph Records

Item-level description and digital versions of images from the collection are available for searching via our online image database.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Lucille Fornasieri Gold in 2008.

Other Finding Aids

Item-level description and digital versions of images from the collection are available for searching via our online image database.

Collection processed by

Emily Reynolds

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 11:19:39 +0000.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English.

Processing Information

Processed to the item level.

Repository

Brooklyn Historical Society

Container

Box: 2008.013 1 of 1 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)
Center for Brooklyn History
128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201