The world's best photographers, from Ansel Adams to Richard Avedon, relied on black-and-white pictures to convey more than an image, but a message, an emotion.

Long after color photographs became a snap to take, some people still see the beauty of black and white.



An architecturally significant midcentury modern that went up for sale Tuesday, Aug. 15, is being marketed with only black-and-white images by Darius Kuzmickas of KuDa Photography.

"We decided to use black and white because it's a creative's house," says listing agent Suzann Baricevic Murphy of Where, Inc. "The color photos are equally fantastic but the black and white expresses the real message of the home. It's a Northwest midcentury icon. It was the best way to evoke the true essence of the home."

She's right. Black and white does convey a timeless, classic quality. But there are other reasons to dial down the rainbow.

Photographer David Geffin wrote on the fstoppers.com blog that shooting in black and white makes you focus on the key elements of lighting, composition and subjects, in and out of the frame. Limiting color also amplifies the shadows and negative space, which add depth to the image.

Bigger reason: Viewers are not distracted by color and look at the shape, form and patterns.

They get an eyeful here, at 3136 SW Fairmount Blvd. in Portland's Scenic Fairmount Loop, which is listed at $699,000.

The midcentury modern house with vertical cedar siding was designed by architect Van Evera Bailey.

The late, Portland-born architect's career spanned 40 years, evolving from traditional Craftsman-style homes to glass-and-wood moderns.





Like architects Pietro Belluschi and John Yeon and other champions of the Northwest Regional style, Bailey used local materials and designed to eliminate strict boundaries between rooms, as well as expand outdoor entertaining areas.

Bailey's national reputation was launched in 1940 when he persuaded Los Angeles-based architect Richard Neutra to use cedar instead of stucco on the Jan de Graaff house in Portland's Dunthorpe.



Throughout his long career, Bailey's work was published in lifestyle and design publications. In 2015, the preservation organization Restore Oregon had a tour of six Bailey's houses in Southwest Portland and Lake Oswego.

The home, built in 1952 on 0.36 acres, has two bedrooms, two baths and 2,439 square feet ($287 a square foot).

-- Janet Eastman



jeastman@oregonian.com

503-799-8739

@janeteastman



