54

Dain L. Tasker

1872-1964

X-Ray of Hanging Fuchsia. 1930s.

Silver print
With Tasker's signature, title, and dedication "Presented to Lousia Myrtle by Dain" in ink on mount recto.
The image 11 1/8 x 9 in. (28.3 x 22.9 cm.), the mount 17 x 13 7/8 in. (43.2 x 35.2 cm.)

  • Provenance:
    A Country Called California: The Collection of Stephen White
  • Notes:
    Dain Tasker was the chief radiologist at Wilshire Hospital in Los Angeles when radiology was in its beginning stages. In the 1930s, inspired by an x-ray photograph made by a fellow physician, he began applying his knowledge of the x-ray image process to recording flowers.

    Both sublime and minimalist, Tasker's images were championed by Will Connell, a prominent Los Angeles photographer and educator who promoted his work and urged him to exhibit his prints in the salons of the Camera Pictorialists of Los Angeles and at the 1939 Golden Gate Exposition in San Francisco. Tasker's x-ray photographs were also published in U.S. Camera and Popular Photography in that era.
  • Condition: For condition reports, email Deborah Rogal at [email protected]

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February 12, 2026 12:00 PM EST
New York, NY, US

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