Lot 151
  • 151

Robert Frank

Estimate
200,000 - 250,000 USD
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Description

  • Robert Frank
  • 'NEW ORLEANS' (TROLLEY)
  • Gelatin silver print
signed, titled, and dated in ink in the margin, printing notations 'Cut A, p. 167, Down Photo,' and  'LB 32306' in pencil on the reverse, 1955, likely printed before 1972

Provenance

Noel Rubaloff Collection, Los Angeles

Unique Asset Services, The Noel K. Rubaloff Collection of Fine Photographs, 16 and 17 October 1984, Lot 294

 

Literature

The Americans: Photographs by Robert Frank (New York, 1986), cover and p. 45

Sarah Greenough, Looking In: Robert Frank's The Americans (Washington, D. C.: National Gallery of Art, 2009), frontispiece 4, pp. 232, 466, and Contact #18/19

Walker Evans, 'Robert Frank,' U. S. Camera Annual 1958, pp. 106-107

Sarah Greenough and Philip Brookman, et al., Robert Frank: Moving Out (Washington, D. C.: National Gallery of Art, 1994), p. 196

Tod Papageorge, Walker Evans and Robert Frank: An Essay on Influence (Yale University Art Gallery, 1981), p. 41

Robert Frank (Aperture, 1976), p. 95

Concerning Photography: Some Thoughts About Reading Photographs (London: The Photographers' Gallery, 1977), p. 30

Peter Galassi, Walker Evans & Company (The Museum of Modern Art, 2000), pl. 137

Emma Dexter and Thomas Weski, eds., Cruel and Tender: The Real in the Twentieth-Century Photograph (London: Tate Modern, 2003), p. 109

Condition

This print, on double-weight paper with a surface sheen, is in generally very good condition. The margin edges are somewhat rubbed, and the corners are lightly bumped. There is a small crease and 2 very small deposits, possibly ink, at the lower margin edge. These do not affect the image. When the print is closely examined in raking light, 2 small handling creases are visible in the lower portion of the print. One is not particularly apparent, and the other is a crescent-shaped crease that does not appear to break the emulsion. There is light soiling on the reverse, and the following is written in pencil near the upper left corner: 'Cut A, p. 167, Down Photo.' 'LB 32306' is written in an unidentified hand in pencil in the lower right corner. Additionally, its possible that this may have been printed earlier than 1972, because, when it is examined with a black light, the print appears to fluoresce only imperceptibly.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Based on the markings on the reverse of this print—specifically, the numbers ‘LB 32306’ and ‘p. 167’—we believe that the print offered here was the actual print used for reproduction in the 1972 LIFE Library of Photography volume, Documentary Photography.  If so, this would place the dating of the print to the 1960s or very early 1970s, and certainly no later than 1971-72.  

The LB numbering system was a proprietary system used by Time Inc. employees to track incoming photographs submitted by non-staff photographers for use in Time Inc. publications.  ‘LB’ stood for LIFE Books.   The Frank Trolley was reproduced on page 167 of the LIFE Library of Photography Documentary Photography volume, which corresponds to the annotation ‘p. 167’ on the present print’s reverse.   After its loan to Time Inc., the print would have been returned to Robert Frank. 

Based on this information, we believe that this print was made prior to 1972 and not in 1975, when Frank likely signed and dated the print as it left his studio for sale.