Mary Ellen Mark
Amanda and Her Cousin Amy in Valdese, North Carolina
1990, printed 1991
Scroll
Mary Ellen Mark
Amanda and Her Cousin Amy in Valdese, North Carolina
1990, printed 1991
Physical Qualities
Gelatin silver print, Sheet: 404 x 505 mm. (15 7/8 x 19 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
National Endowment for the Arts, and matching funds from Dr. and Mrs. Alfred Kronthal, Dr. and Mrs. Fray F. Marshall, Janis Hays Meyer, Dr. and Mrs. Raymond H. Starr, C. Rodney Strom, and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Levine
Object Number
1991.80
Since the 1960s, Mary Ellen Mark has photographed people living at the edge of society. Her images have appeared on the pages of LIFE, Vanity Fair, and The New York Times Magazine. Mark’s Amanda and Her Cousin Amy in Valdese, North Carolina stems from a LIFE assignment in 1990, when the magazine sent her to North Carolina to document a school for children with special needs. While on site, Mark met Amanda, a nine-year-old girl who smoked openly in front of her mother. “Her mother could say nothing; Amanda was the boss,” Mark wrote. In this image, Amanda and her cousin seem to represent the poles of experience and innocence despite the similarity of their ages and circumstances.
Jan Howard, BMA, "A Century of American Photography: A Decade of BMA Acquisitions," 22 October 1997 - 11 January 1998.
Kristen Hileman, BMA. "Seeing now: Photography Since 1960," February 20-May 15, 2011.
Kristen Hileman, BMA. "Seeing now: Photography Since 1960," February 20-May 15, 2011.
