Finding Aid of the Helen M. Post Photographs and Negatives, AV.7002

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Finding Aid of the Helen M. Post Photographs and Negatives, AV.7002

Abstract

Helen M. Post (1907-1978), studied photography under the tutelage of noted Viennese photographer, Trude Fleischmann. In 1935, Post returned to the United States and began her career as a freelance photographer. Her work documenting educational institutions took her to Black Mountain College, an experimental college near Black Mountain, North Carolina. There Post photographed members of the faculty such as Anni Albers and Xanti Schawinsky, students, campus scenes, and examples of life in the college community.


The Helen M. Post Photographs and Negatives consist of 41 photographic prints, 233 35 mm. negatives, 27 contact prints from these negatives, and 43 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 inch negatives all taken during Post's brief visit to Black Mountain College in 1937.

Descriptive Summary

Title
Helen M. Post Photographs and Negatives
Call Number
AV.7002
Creator
Post, Helen M.
Date
1937
Repository
Western Regional Archives, State Archives of North Carolina

Series Quick Links

    Collection Overview

    The Helen M. Post Photographs and Negatives consist of 41 photographic prints, 233 35 mm. negatives, 27 contact prints from these negatives, and 43 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 inch negatives all taken during Post's brief visit to Black Mountain College in 1937. A large body of Post's work, including her photographs of Native Americans of the West and Southwest, were given to the Amon Carter Museum of Art in Fort Worth, Texas

    Biographical/Historical

    Helen M. Post (1907-1978), grew up in Bloomfield, New Jersey. She graduated from New York's Alfred University where she studied ceramics arts. During a year abroad, Post took classes at the University of Vienna. After a short stint teaching in Kentucky, Post returned to Europe where she studied photography under the tutelage of noted Viennese photographer, Trude Fleischmann.

    In 1935, Post returned to the United States and began her career as a freelance photographer. Her work documenting educational institutions took her to Black Mountain College, an experimental college near Black Mountain, North Carolina. There Post photographed members of the faculty such as Anni Albers and Xanti Schawinsky, students, campus scenes, and examples of life in the college community.

    Shortly after her stay in Black Mountain, Post married Rudolf Modley, in September 1937. A native of Austria and a naturalized American citizen, Modley would travel extensively for his work for the Soil Conservation Service. Post journeyed with him and began photographing Native Americans of the West and Southwest. Sioux, Navajo, Apache, Hopi, and Pueblo groups were people she documented with her lens. The Bureau of Indian Affairs purchased some of these images to illustrated their publications. Her work was featured in the 2020 University of Nebraska publication, The Grass Shall Grow: Helen Post photographs the Native American West, by Mick Gidley. Post's sister, Marion Post Wolcott (1910-1990), was also a notable photographer who worked for the Farm Security Administration before settling to raise a family.

    Contents of the Collection

    Subject Headings

  1. Albers, Anni.
  2. Black Mountain College (Black Mountain, N.C.)
  3. College life
  4. College students
  5. Photographs

    6. Acquisitions Information

    Donated by Peter Modley in December 2012.