Guide to the Arthur Tress Photographs M2214
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
2018
Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford 94305-6064
specialcollections@stanford.edu
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Arthur Tress photographs
creator:
Tress, Arthur
Identifier/Call Number: M2214
Physical Description:
2 Linear Feet
(58 prints in two boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1965-1983
Abstract: Prints by American photographer Arthur Tress.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use.
Conditions Governing Use
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not
an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission
or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], Arthur Tress photographs (M2214). Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford
University Libraries, Stanford, California.
Biographical / Historical
Arthur Tress (Nov. 24, 1940- ) has had an extremely active career and is well published, with much of his work incorporating
his role as both director and photographer. His photographs engage a rich visual symbolism, often presenting dream-like, childhood
states. He has also documented San Francisco in the 1960s and composed and photographed fantasy toy stage settings, such as
the Teapot Opera. Over his career his work has been constantly inventive, often playful, always psychologically probing. Born
in Brooklyn in 1940, Tress began his photography career as a teenager, photographing the dilapidated buildings and denizens
of Coney Island. Early on he developed an interest in ethnographic photography and the production of photographic narratives,
which led to a commission from the New York State Council on the Arts to produce Open space in the inner city; ecology and
the urban environment (1971). His book, The Dream collector (1972), with staged photographic work based on his interviews
with children and employing these same children to perform their dreams is now considered a classic in the photobook literature.
With Theater of the mind (1976) Tress moved to adult fantasies and begins a period of overtly erotic work. In Facing up (alternatively
titled Phallic phantasy, (1980), Tress moved to overtly gay photographic work. In more recent years Tress has continued in
the “directorial mode,” and worked in color with miniature stage settings, producing The Teapot opera and the Fish tank sonata.
He continues to actively photograph and exhibit.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Anonymous gift ; 2017. Accession MSS 2017-111.
Scope and Contents
58 approximately 8" x 10" prints by photographer Arthur Tress. Most of the prints are on double weight gelatin silver paper
and are dry mounted on board.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Photography, Artistic
Tress, Arthur
Series 1. Appalachia: People and Places
Scope and Contents
In 1968 Tress had his first one-person exhibition "Appalachia--People and Places", which was held at the Smithsonian Institute
and the Sierra Gallery in New York City.
Box 1, Folder 1
AT.2007.5774 North Carolina, Elk Park. Children of Unemployed Miners Live in Squalor, Play With Dirty Doll
1968
box 1, folder 2
AT.2007.3568 Bagman, NY
1975
box 1, folder 3
AT.2007.3575 Bagman, NY
1975
Series 3. Dream Collector
box 1, folder 4
AT.2013.10338 Hockey Glove Fantasy, NY, NY
box 1, folder 5
AT.2013.10343 Boy in Flood Dream, NY
1971
box 1, folder 6
AT.2013.10349 Philip Hecksher's Dream, Bar Harbor, Maine
box 1, folder 7
AT.2013.10373 Girl in Aquarium with Sea Mammals, San Francisco, California
1972
box 1, folder 8
AT.2013.10378 Boy Listening to Musician, Biloxi, Miss.
1971
box 1, folder 9
AT.2013.10384 Girl in White Dress in Interior, Cape May, NJ
1971
box 1, folder 10
AT.2013.10402 Flying Dream, Queens, NY
1969
box 1, folder 11
AT.2013.10405 Boy in Labyrinth Maze, NY
1969
box 1, folder 12
AT.2016.10745 P.S.3 Dream Workshop, Rabbit by Window, NY
1969
box 1, folder 13
AT.2007.3354 Elmer is a Political Prisoner, NY
1977
box 1, folder 14
AT.2007.3372 Elmer at End of Day, NY
1977
box 1, folder 15
AT.2007.3375 Elmer At Peep Show, NY
1977
box 1, folder 16
AT.2007.3392 Elmer Takes the Temperature, NY
1977
box 1, folder 17
AT.2007.3422 Elmer Uses a Caliper, NY
1977
box 1, folder 18
AT.2007.3502 Elmer Inside Clock, E.H.
1977
box 1, folder 19
AT.2012.9534 Eskimo Shaman, Point Hope, Alaska
1969
box 1, folder 20
AT.2012.9520 Cow Horns, Toda Tribe, India
1965
box 1, folder 21
AT.2012.9545 Fishing Floats, Japan
1965
box 1, folder 22
AT.2012.9548 Hiroshima, 1965. Double Exposure Showing Before + After Effects of Bomb
1965
Series 8. Male Nude/Gay/Facing Up
box 1, folder 23
AT.2007.6312 Pool Attendant, Miami Beach, Florida
1977
box 1, folder 24
AT.2008.1907 Nude In Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY
1980
box 1, folder 25
AT.2008.1916 Nude with Jeans, NY
1980
box 1, folder 26
AT.2008.1938 Corn God, New Hope, Pa.
1980
box 1, folder 27
AT.2008.1949 Pier Cruising, NY
1980
box 1, folder 28
AT.2008.1963 After the Bomb, Brooklyn, NY
1980
box 1, folder 29
AT.2008.2002 Leather Couple in Doorway, NY
1980
box 1, folder 30
AT.2008.2124 The Ledger Book, NY
1980
box 1, folder 31
AT.2008.2239 The Prussian Soldier + Drinking Comrade, NY
1980
box 1, folder 32
AT.2008.2246 2 Leather Guys in Pier Doorways, NY
1980
box 1, folder 33
AT.2008.2253 Follow the Rules, NY
1980
box 1, folder 34
AT.2008.2363 Jung's dream, NY
1980
box 2, folder 1
AT.2008.2608 Rooftop Duet, NY
1977
box 2, folder 2
AT.2008.2613 Viper Vites, NY
1977
box 2, folder 3
AT.2008.6198 Man and Pump, NY
box 2, folder 4
AT.2009.6211 Man in Black Tape, NY
box 2, folder 5
AT.2009.6221 Grooming, NY
box 2, folder 6
AT.2009.6274 The Gardener's Fantasy, Cold Spring, NY
1977
box 2, folder 7
AT.2009.6292 Couple, NY
1977
box 2, folder 8
AT.2009.6308 Mousetrap, NY
1977
box 2, folder 9
AT.2009.6309 Urban Cowboy, NY
1980
box 2, folder 10
AT.2009.6315 Wounded Soldier, NY
1977
box 2, folder 11
AT.2009.6317 Wrench Fantasy, NY
1977
box 2, folder 12
AT.2009.6334 Pier Guy, NY
1977
box 2, folder 13
AT.2007.6700 Man on Bench, SF, CA
1963
box 2, folder 14
AT.2007.0744 Shadow King under El, NY
1974
box 2, folder 15
AT.2007.0746 Shadow on Subway Stairs, NY
1974
box 2, folder 16
AT.2007.0776 Shadow Feeding Giant Eagle, NY
1974
box 2, folder 17
AT.2007.1771 Shadow: The Town, Arles, France
1974
box 2, folder 18
AT.2007.0146 Oscillating Functions, NY
1983
box 2, folder 19
AT.2007.3833 Tennis Anyone? Light Box Collage, NY
1983
box 2, folder 20
AT.2007.3870 Virgo, Collage, NY, Astrology Page, Magazine
1983
box 2, folder 21
AT.2007.3871 Father of the Bride, Collage, NY
1983
box 2, folder 24
AT.2007.4544 TPO, II
1981
