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Elephant and Bread — Vintage Black-and-White Photograph by Neal M. White, 1973–1974
An engaging and quietly humorous vintage photograph by American photographer Neal M. White (1947–2024).
An elephant's trunk extends over a concrete enclosure wall toward a small piece of bread lying on the ground, tantalizingly beyond its reach.
The composition is striking in its simplicity. A long diagonal concrete wall divides the photograph, while the elephant's curved trunk and the small white rectangle of bread provide the only principal points of interest. The resulting image is both playful and strangely poignant, transforming an ordinary moment into a study of distance, desire, and anticipation.
The photograph is presented on its original rust-colored mount, with the image surrounded by a narrow black Neal M. White (1947–2024)
Photograph dated 1973 on the reverse
Signed and dated 1974 by Neal White on the front
Original vintage black-and-white photographic print
Photograph approximately 9¼ × 7½ inches
Rust-colored mount approximately 18 inches wide × 14 inches reverse bears Neal White's name and the date 1973, along with handwritten Spanish-language photographic printing instructions:
"Ancho: 18.0 cms. con el mismo borde negro (sacar pruebas)."
Translated: "Width: 18.0 cm, with the same black border (make test prints)."
These notations are an interesting part of the photograph's working history.
Condition:
The photograph and original mount present well overall. There is a small, light-colored spot on the rust-colored mount toward the middle of the right side, shown in the accompanying close-up photograph.
The reverse retains handwritten notations and old tape along the edges. Please examine all photographs for additional details of condition.
Provenance:
From the personal photographic archive of Neal M. White, longtime professor of photography at San Francisco State University.
A distinctive example of White's observational photography, combining spare composition, subtle humor, and an unexpected encounter between animal and human-made surroundings.
