Untitled (Leah and Her Father), from the series "At Twelve", c. 1983–1985
Gelatin silver print
Image size 10 × 12 in.
Framed size 19 ½ × 20 ¾ in.
Signed in pencil on verso
September 1, 2025
This captivating photograph is part of the series At Twelve, Sally Mann’s first major body of work. Mann's photographic project was made in her native Rockbridge County, Virginia, and portrays twelve-year-old girls, poised on the cusp between the life of a child and womanhood. This theme is emphasized here as we see her daughter's friend, sitting in a familiar way on her father’s lap, grown to where she now spills over beyond his grasp. Her eyes locked on the camera, and looking out intently from the picture, are suggestive of a budding interest in the world beyond this familial one that she has grown up knowing.
