WILLIAM MORTENSEN

William Mortensen "Preparation For The Sabbath" 1928

William Mortensen "Ho Ho Off To Sabbath" 1928

William Mortensen Title unknown, circa 1926

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William Mortensen (1897 - 1965) was an American Photographer, primarily known for his occult themed works and Hollywood portraits in the 1920s-1940s in the pictorialist style.

Ansel Adams called him ‘the Antichrist’ and wanted him written out of history. But William Mortensen’s grotesque photographs of death, nudity and torture and are now enjoying a resurgence in popularity and appreciation..

Stephen Romano Gallery had been the primary presenter of the art of William Mortensen for the past decade, perpetuating exhibitions, publishing catalogs, featuring the works in art fairs and placing important works in collections internationally.

Stephen Romano Gallry has also been cultivating probably the largest and most comprehensive collection of the artist's work, with the eventual goal of placing it in institutional hands for curatorial custodianship.

William Mortensen "The Old Hag" 1926

William Mortensen Title unknown 1926

William Mortensen "An Indian Lyric" 1928

William Mortensen "L'Amour" 1934

William Mortensen "Mort De Guillaume" circa 1928

William Mortensen "Adelita" 1932

William Mortensen "Wind" 1932

William Mortensen "Fear" 1928

William Mortensen "Anna Mae Wong" 1926

William Mortensen Title unknown, 1924

William Mortensen Title unknown 1924

William Mortensen "Youth" 1932

William Mortensen Title unknown 1926

William Mortensen "Jean" 1927

William Mortensen "The Mirror" 1926

William Mortensen Title unknown (Saint Courtney), 1924

William Mortensen Title unknown 1924

William Mortensen Title unknown 1926

William Mortensen "Thunder" 1932

William Mortensen Title unknown, circa 1926

William Mortensen "Nude Study" 1932

William Mortensen "Vigne" 1924

William Mortensen Title unknown 1924

William Mortensen Title unknown 1926

William Mortensen "Nude Study" 1932

William Mortensen Title unknown, 1926

William Mortensen Title unknown 1926

William Mortensen "Zaida" 1924

William Mortensen "A Tantric Sorcerer" 1924

William Mortensen "The Heretic" 1924

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William Mortensen at 125

A MULTI-VENUE CELEBRATION OF THE 125TH

BIRTHDAY OF AMERICA'S - AND HISTORY'S -

GREATEST VISIONARY PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTIST.

BUCKLAND MUSEUM OF WITHCRAFT AND MAGIC,

CLEVELAND OHIO

GALLERY OF EVERYTHING, LONDON UK

MUSEUM OF FINE ART, HOUSTON TEXAS

LAGUNA ART MUSEUM,

LAGUNA BEACH CALIFONIA

STEHEN ROMANO GALLERY, BROOKLYN NEW YORK

HERITAGE MUSEUM OF ORANGE COUNTY,

SANTA ANA CALIFORNIA

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"William Mortensen's WITCHES" at SCOPE Art Show, New York

February 2019 catalog pdf

William Mortensen's WITCHES

The Buckland Museum of Witchcraft and Magick, Cleveland OHIO

August 15 - December 30 2019

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the DARK MOFO Festival in Tasmania

Salamanca Arts Centre, Hogarth, Tasmania.

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The art of William Mortensenin the exhibtion

"The Creepy Room' at Stephen Romano Gallery April 2016

William Mortensen "The Sorceress" 1928

inquiries welcome

William Mortensen

"Sappho The Supreme and Melancholy Poetess of Old Greece"

also known as Mary of Magdala (Dorothy Cumming) 1926.
Manipulated photograph, pencil, Unique.

inquiries welcome

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Monsters and Madonnas on Vimeo.

NARRATED BY VINCENT PRICE

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William Mortensen was featured in the

Museum Of Everything's exhibition at

The Museum of Old and New

in Tasmania opening summer 2017

courtesy of The Museum of Everything.

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The works of William Mortensen

at SCOPE ART SHOW, NEW YORK

March 2 - 5 2017

continue to full article

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The works of WILLIAM MORTENSEN

were featured at

the 25th annual OUTSIDER ART FAIR in New York January 2017.

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Stephen Romano, Joe Coleman

and the works of William Mortensen

at Morbid Anatomy Museum 2015

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William Mortensen was featured in a one person exhibition at

STEPHEN ROMANO GALLERY New York

OCTOBER 15 - DECEMBER 30, 2014 .

read the review by Claire Voon in Hyperallergic.

This was the first solo exhibition of William Mortensen's works

in 20 years, and was mounted in celebration of the release of

"American Grotesque - The Life and Art of William Mortensen"

the first monograh on the artst, published by Feral House.

William Mortensen

"The Initiation of a Young Witch II" c. 1928

inquiries welcome

William Mortensen

"The Old Hag" c. 1928

inquiries welcome

William Mortensen

Untitled

(Red Head in Feathered Hat)"

circa 1959
inquiries welcome

William Mortensen

"SAPPHO" circa 1924 - 26

inquiries welcome

William Mortensen

Unknown title

(Balphagor and the Lost Souls in Hell)

c 1926 - 1928

inquiries welcome

William Mortensen "A Hindoo Woman" circa 1926 -28,
inquiries welcome

William Mortensen "Mediation" circa 1926

series of of five photographs,
inquiries welcome

William Mortensen "Circe" 1930

Silver Print

inquiries welcome

William Mortensen is featured in:


William Mortensen on Monsterbrains	William Mortensen on Dangerous Minds

Witches and Peasants by Eve Khan

William Mortensen's 20th Century Photos Are

Some Of The Most Beautifully Terrifying Images Ever Made

"A Pictorial Compendium of Witchcraft" July 2014

"Monsters and Madonnas" August 2014


Untitled c 1926 - 1927 from the series "A Pictorial Compendium of Witchcraft sold	The Mark of the Borgia, ca. 1930 sold

Chained Nude With Monk c 1926 - 1927 from the series "A Pictorial Compendium of Witchcraft" sold	Nude with Demon 1926 - 1927 from the series "A Pictorial Compendium of Witchcraft" sold

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..Mortensen’s methods often made it hard to distinguish whether the results were photographs or not. He used traditional printmaking techniques, such as bromoiling, and developed many of his own. He would create composite images, scratch, scrape and draw on his prints, then apply a texture that made them look like etchings, thereby disguising his manipulations. Consequently, every print was unique. Ultimately, Mortensen’s aim was to create something that, for all intents and purposes, appeared to be a photograph, yet portrayed scenes so fantastic they caused wonder and astonishment in the viewer.

..His love of the fantastic and the grotesque was, then, partly an outward expression of his love to shock, but it had another purpose: by giving form to such emotions as fear and hatred, Mortensen, a Christian Scientist, believed “we are enabled to lessen their power over us”. He added: “When the world of the grotesque is known and appreciated, the real world becomes vastly more significant.”

..It was these kinds of ideas that so angered Adams and his Group f/64 brethren devoted to photography that depicted a pure, unmediated reality. This began a spirited debate with Mortensen within the pages of the magazine that became ever more vitriolic. However, Adams did not stop there, suggesting in a personal letter to Mortensen that he “negotiate oblivion”. When fellow photographer Edward Weston wrote telling of his excitement at photographing a “fresh corpse”, Adams replied: “My only regret is that the identity of said corpse is not our Laguna Beach colleague.”

..The critics Beaumont Newhall and his wife Nancy held the same view: Beaumont consciously excluded Mortensen from his grandiosely titled 1949 book The History of Photography, From 1839 to the Present Day. Their distaste would not even allow them to acknowledge Mortensen’s mastery of his craft. Ultimately though, for all the griping of Adams and f/64, it turns out that Mortensen was the true modernist all along, not them. For today, we are surrounded by images of the fantastic and unreal.