Helen M. Stummer photographs and papers
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Abstract
Photographs of residents of East 6th Street in Manhattan, New York City, and related material from the photographer.
Biographical Note
Helen M. Stummer was born in 1936. She holds a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Kean College, and a masters degree in Visual Sociology from Vermont College. Before becoming a photographer, Stummer was a painter. She began taking photographs in 1975, enrolling in classes at the International Center for Photography in New York City, in order to better document subjects for her paintings.
Stummer considers herself a Visual Sociologist. She has focused her camera on photographing economically disadvantaged communities, both in urban and rural settings. In addition to the photographs taken on East 6th Street found in this collection, she has documented inhabitants of the city of Newark, New Jersey, as well as communities in rural Maine and in Guatemala.
Stummer's photographs have been widely published and exhibited. More information on Stummer can be found on her website, www.hmstummer.com.
Arrangement
The collection has been arranged in two series.
Missing Title
- Series I: Photographs
- Series II: Archive Material
Scope and Content Note
The Helen M. Stummer Photographs and Papers span the period from 1976 to 2001 and primarily contains photographs taken on East 6th Street in New York City. The collection also holds some of the photographer's archive relating to these photographs, including audiocassettes, a videocassette, an artist's book and a memoir.
While Stummer was enrolled in photography classes at the International Center for Photography, she was encouraged to continue an earlier interest in photographing children. She arranged to go to the Children's Aid Society's Sloane Center on East 6th Street between Avenues B and C. At that time the street was considered part of the Lower East Side neighborhood, and was inhabited mainly by poor Puerto Rican and African American families. Stummer photographed children both inside the Center and outside on the streets. Over the course of several years, she befriended many East 6th Street residents, and photographed important events in their lives. She also conducted oral interviews with some of the people she met and photographed.
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Access Restrictions
Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Use Restrictions
The audiovisual material in Series II is restricted from use because of the fragility of the tapes and the fact that the Library does not have the needed playback equipment.
Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.
Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as Helen M. Stummer Photographs and Papers, PR 235, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
In 2003 a total of 22 photographs were acquired from the photographer in a combined purchase/donation transaction. Additional images and other documentary material were donated by the photographer in August 2008. A memoir was added in March 2013.
About this Guide
Processing Information Note
The collection was first processed by Julie Viggiano in June 2003. Updates were made by Jenny Gotwals in November 2005. The memoir was added, and other refinements in the finding aid were made, by archivist Larry Weimer in September 2017.