A photograph taken in 1953 by renowned pictorialist A. Aubrey Bodine offers a glimpse into the past of Annapolis, Maryland, capturing the rear of #58 Cornhill Street in its unrestored state. The image, part of Bodine's extensive body of work, highlights the condition of the street before restoration efforts transformed the area. As noted in the press release, houses at #54 and #56-60 were in a similar dilapidated condition prior to their revival, making Bodine's photograph a valuable historical record.
A. Aubrey Bodine (1906-1970) is celebrated globally as one of the finest pictorialists of the twentieth century. His career began in 1923 as a photographer for the Baltimore Sunday Sun, where he documented occupations and activities across Maryland. Bodine's work transcended typical newspaper photography, combining documentary precision with artistic design and lighting. He studied art at the Maryland Institute College of Art and believed photography could be a creative discipline, using his camera and darkroom tools like a painter's brush.
Bodine's craftsmanship was central to his artistic ability. He experimented with techniques such as applying dyes and intensifiers to negatives, pencil marking, and scraping to achieve desired effects. He also added clouds photographically and performed elaborate manipulations. According to Bodine, these alterations were justified because, like a painter, he selected features that suited his sense of mood, proportion, and design. As he stated, "He did not take a picture, he made a picture."
The photograph of Cornhill Street is emblematic of Bodine's approach. It not only documents a specific location but also evokes a sense of atmosphere and history. For preservationists, the image serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining historic structures. The street's subsequent restoration, as implied by the press release, transformed the area, but Bodine's photograph preserves the original state for posterity.
Bodine's legacy is preserved through his extensive collection of over 6,000 photographs spanning his 47-year career, available for viewing at www.aaubreybodine.com. These images can also be ordered as reprints and note cards through the same website. For those interested in learning more about Bodine, a biography titled "A. Aubrey Bodine, A Legend In His Time" by Harold A. Williams is available on the website.
The importance of this announcement lies in its dual focus: the artistic merit of Bodine's work and the historical value of his documentation. Cornhill Street's transformation from a state of disrepair to restoration mirrors broader trends in historic preservation, and Bodine's photograph provides a benchmark for measuring that change. As communities continue to grapple with preserving their heritage while accommodating modern needs, images like this offer tangible connections to the past.
