Tony Mendoza, "Halloween 1992. Lydia, who had just turned three, wanted to be a bride"

Tony Mendoza

Halloween 1992. Lydia, who had just turned three, wanted to be a bride.

Archival pigment print on Canson Baryta Paper

Price range: $300 through $670

Tony Mendoza’s Lydia and Halloween series features his daughter, Lydia, in four different Halloween costumes chronicled throughout her life.  Mendoza hand-dates each of his editions based off the year the photograph was taken rather than the year it was printed.

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Year
2014
Edition of
50
Dimensions
24 x 20 inches
Authentication

Signed, numbered, and dated by the artist on the reverse. All Haystack editions come with a Certificate of Authenticity.

About the Artwork

Tony Mendoza’s Lydia and Halloween series features his daughter, Lydia, in four different Halloween costumes chronicled throughout her life.  Mendoza hand-dates each of his editions based off the year the photograph was taken rather than the year it was printed. The artist also includes a brief description beneath each image, providing viewers with a short story within his greater concept.

An experienced printer himself, each print in the Lydia and Halloween series was printed by the artist. Every Archival Pigment Print was digitally printed with a lab-calibrated inkjet printer using pigment-based inks (this process is also known as Giclée printing). Canson Baryta Paper was specifically developed for inkjet technology and offers the look and feel of an original darkroom print, making it an ideal choice for black and white photography. 

Curator's Note

Tony Mendoza has captured a moment in time- his first and only daughter’s first Halloween costume. Lydia’s gaze is bright and direct, she was likely already accustomed to being face-to-face with her father’s lens.

The composition of this photo is enchanting – the toddler’s bangs inversely mirror her taffeta veil, elevating her handmade costume to royal standards. In his photography book Stories (2017) he elaborates on the work, writing, “This was her first Halloween outfit. For the next ten Halloweens, Lydia would tell Carmen [her mother] who she wanted to be and Carmen would make her outfit. Lydia never once wanted to be a monster. She always wanted to be a powerful or beautiful woman.” 

About the Artist

Tony Mendoza

Tony Mendoza (b.1941, Havana, Cuba) is a visual and verbal storyteller. Underneath his photographs he will often write a brief anecdote, sometimes as few as five words, both witty and sincere. He trains his lens mainly on people, with the occasional dog or cat.

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