News from the JUDY SEIGEL ESTATENew York, NY - Feb. 27, 2026“COP YAWNING” TAKES TOP PRIZE IN NATIONAL ANALOG PHOTO SHOW
Judy Seigel’s "Cop Yawning, Halloween" won the juror's award for the "Analog-Made by Hand" exhibition at the Photo Place Gallery, Middlebury, VT. In our first competitive submission, the mixed-media gum bichromate print was selected from 1100 entries by world gum expert Christina Z. Anderson. It’s on view at the gallery April 3-25 and here:
“Cop Yawning, Halloween,” negative 1986, created circa 2000s, mixed media gum bichromate
"Cop Yawning" is a "complex contemporary read,” writes juror Anderson, “the ruddy lips of the policeman yawning on the horse juxtaposed with the delicate portraiture of the individuals at the bottom."
That's signature Judy— transfiguring gritty NYC street action with vintage craft. The picture's top portion in reddish brown gum bichromate sits above a decorative bottom border of jaunty police heads created with photo transfer, paint and ink, building on Judy’s background as an award-winning 1950s Mad Woman advertising illustrator.
Close-up decorative border: photo transfer, ink and paint
When I submitted this image, I didn't know the title—or that there was one. After the thrilling award news, I—Judy’s daughter— joy-dived into our Filemaker database for clues, typing "horse" under "Description." Up popped a silver gelatin print showing wider shot of the same scene, now clearly in late-night Times Square. Handwritten on the back: 1986 and "Cop Yawning, Halloween."
WHAT’S IN A TITLE?
“Cop Yawning, Halloween,” 1986, silver gelatin, Sabattier darkroom technique
The black and white original reveals Judy’s trademark Sabattier printing technique, which creates surrealistic effects by flashing light on a developing darkroom image. She shot and printed racing to photograph vanishing old Times Square in the 1980s one step ahead of the wrecking balls clearing the way for today’s Disney-fied tourist mecca.
It’s pure Judy to create a later gum version of a black & white shot from 1986. For two decades after her intensive '80s street Times Square photographing phase, she re-fashioned and re-printed her favorite images in diverse designs, colors, decorations and media. In the “Cop Yawning” mixed media gum, we see how tighter focus on the cop’s face and decorative treatment transforms a broader street scene into a relatable, even whimsical human moment—the cop isn’t shouting after all, he’s tired.
1980s TIMES SQUARE PROJECT
The emotion? Alt process print reveals and transforms the moment
A word about gum: this most painterly of the 19th-century photographic processes mixes pigment with gum Arabic and a light-sensitizer to fix images with UV exposure. The same-size negative is laid on top of the paper, requiring multiple passes for different colors and tones. Predating Kodak by decades, the mix-your-own approach produced some of the first archival color photographs—a process today loved especially by next gen artists hungry to create unique works by hand.
THE GUM BICHROMATE REVIVAL
@Judy Seigel, Gum prep, World Journal of Post-Factory Photography
Dubbed an alt process "legend," Judy innovated and simplified the gum process, helping popularize its modern revival, writes Christopher James in his landmark alternative-process textbooks. Judy shared her innovations teaching at Pratt Institute, ICP, and Parsons, as well as in her (analog) publication, the World Journal of Post-Factory Photography (1998-2004) with subscribers in 33 countries. Issues 1-4 are now digitized from her masters for sale here.
JUDY “QUEEN OF GUM”
I've been toiling since my mother's 2017 death to archive her artwork, with more than a few missteps. Friends call it a labor of love and suggest that I focus on my own journalism career instead. But her legacy is also my legacy. As I move towards getting up her website portfolio and aim for the next phase, this award is a huge boost.
– Jessica Seigel, Director, Judy Seigel Estate