[Conference Calling, Bell Telephone Systems]

1934

Not on view

No stranger to corporate culture, Grancel Fitz worked for some of the biggest brands in American industry, from Chevrolet Motor to Ivory Soap. In this photograph for the Bell System—AT&T’s nationwide monopoly on telecommunications—an executive echo chamber evokes this broader network. The published ad shows a grid superimposed across the image, segmenting these suits into the separate time zones of a conference call. Decades before the advent of Zoom, it visualizes a virtual boardroom, complete with a white-collar cast to control the lines.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: [Conference Calling, Bell Telephone Systems]
Artist: Grancel Fitz (American, 1894–1963)
Date: 1934
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Dimensions: 18.1 x 25.2 cm (7 1/8 x 9 15/16 in.)
Frame: 20 x 16 in.
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987
Object Number: 1987.1100.379
Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

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Under the Boardwalk, Grancel Fitz American, Gelatin silver print — Under the Boardwalk
Grancel Fitz
1917

[Advertisement for Fosteria Glass: Flowers in a Vase], Grancel Fitz American, Gelatin silver print — [Advertisement for Fosteria Glass: Flowers in a Vase]
Grancel Fitz
1928

[Advertisement for Chevrolet: Woman in Evening Gown Sitting in a Car], Grancel Fitz American, Carbro print — [Advertisement for Chevrolet: Woman in Evening Gown Sitting in a Car]
Grancel Fitz
1935

[Studio (?) Beach Scene Advertisement (?); 3 Woman and Man in Bathing Suits, Posed Reclining or Sitting on Sand], Grancel Fitz American, Gelatin silver print — [Studio (?) Beach Scene Advertisement (?); 3 Woman and Man in Bathing Suits, Posed Reclining or Sitting on Sand]
Grancel Fitz
1930s

Oldsmobile, Grancel Fitz American, Gelatin silver print — Oldsmobile
Grancel Fitz
1929

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