“One does not choose between abstract or documentary. The picture is part of vibrant life—maybe even social commitment,” Olson said, rejecting a strict division between figurative and abstract work. He composed his images from the architecture of Stockholm’s modern bridges; they are “visual interpretations of space, depth, boundlessness,” the photographer and MoMA curator Edward Steichen proclaimed. Mounted on board and configured in three panels, Project for a Mural insists on its objectness and dimensionality. The work is installed here for the first time since 1960, when it was featured in MoMA’s exhibition The Sense of Abstraction.

Gallery label from

"Collection 1940s—1970s", 2019

Gallery label from 2020.

“One does not choose between abstract or documentary. The picture is part of vibrant life—maybe even social commitment,” Olson said, rejecting a strict division between figurative and abstract work. He composed his images from the architecture of Stockholm’s modern bridges; they are “visual interpretations of space, depth, boundlessness,” the photographer and MoMA curator Edward Steichen proclaimed. Mounted on board and configured in three panels, Project for a Mural insists on its objectness and dimensionality. The work is installed here for the first time since 1960, when it was featured in MoMA’s exhibition The Sense of Abstraction.

Medium Gelatin silver prints
Dimensions (.a): 15 3/16 × 27 1/4" (38.5 × 69.2 cm), (.b): 15 3/16 × 36 1/8" (38.5 × 91.7 cm), (.c): 15 1/4 × 36 3/8" (38.7 × 92.4 cm)
Credit Purchase
Object number 552.1960.a-c
Department Photography

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