Lydia Nash / Bruxelles: Great Take Of Little Street Girl On Window Sill (Vintage Photo 1970s/1980s)

original vintage photo - no reprint!

matte gelatin silver print mounted on flexible plastic

this photo most likely was part of an exhibition

photographer: LYDIA NASH

lydia nash was born in washington d.c. and held american nationality. she was active as a painter, sculptor, photographer, and mixed-media/collage artist, based mainly in brussels, belgium, from at least the 1960s through the 2010s

her training included the académie royale des beaux-arts in liège (arts graphiques et sculpture, under professors fernand vetcour, gustave monzée, joseph louis, and mady andrien), the académie internationale de salzbourg (painting, under mario deluigi), the institut national supérieur des arts visuels la cambre in brussels (painting and three-dimensional research, under roger dudant), and the académie d'ixelles evening classes (photography, under jacques courtejoie). a 1962 "bal des beaux-arts" program from liège, found in her photo album with a handwritten note saying she won first prize in a costume contest, suggests she was a young student there around that time, which would put her birth roughly in the late 1930s to early 1940s, though this is not confirmed anywhere

she exhibited widely in and around brussels between 1967 and 2012, including venues like nato brussels, shape mons, the american women's club of brussels, château malou, the casino de knokke, hôtel la réserve in knokke-le-zoute, and a final known solo photography show in 2012 at "la clef d'or" near the place du jeu de balle flea market in the marolles district. in 1989 she took part in a group show titled "topics in american art" at galerie monochrome in brussels alongside andy warhol, tom wesselmann, robert rauschenberg, and christo

she won several awards over the years, including a first prize in a 1980 brussels market-themed photography contest (covered by la libre belgique), a first prize from the commune de forest in 1984, a first prize "animation" award from the francs bourgeois de bruxelles, and a gold medal in photography plus a silver medal in painting from the académie internationale des arts contemporains (a.i.a.c.), where she represented the usa in belgium. in 1986 she was named honorary citizen of beuzec-cap-sizun in brittany, france

she has a confirmed entry in the "piron" dictionary of belgian visual artists of the 19th and 20th centuries, a respected print reference work, which describes her style as blending abstract and figurative painting with a photographic focus on atmosphere and human expression. notably, unlike neighboring entries in the same dictionary, no birth year is given for her, which stands out given the dictionary format usually includes one

a handwritten note found in her materials appears to be signed by jean chalon, a well-known french journalist and biographer (long associated with le figaro, prix marcel proust 1994), suggesting some personal connection or acquaintance, though no direct documented link between him and lydia nash has been found in his published writings or elsewhere online

despite the depth of her documented career, she has essentially no online presence: no wikipedia entry, no listings in major art market databases (artnet, artprice, askart), no obituary, and no birth or death date found anywhere. this is consistent with an artist who was locally active and socially engaged but who did not seek broader public documentation, and whose personal archive (portfolio, press clippings, posters, and photo album) survived mainly in physical form until it reached the antiques dealer in brussels who is the source of this material

date: ~ 1970s/1980s

size: ~ 22.8 x 15.3 cm (1 cm ~ 0.39 inch)

condition: very good...paper residue on back...please also refer to the scans wich show complete front and backside of the photo

photokunst, photo art, fotografie, foto, b&w, b/w, sinti, roma, spain, landscape, niña