Heinrich Kühn

gum-bichromate print, the photographer's printing notations in pencil on the reverse, 1907

Estate of the photographer

Lunn Ltd., New York, 1994

Ulrich Knapp, Heinrich Kühn, Photographien (Salzburg, 1988), p. 24

Heinrich Kühn, The Perfect Photograph (Ostfildern, 2010), p. 175

Valerie Lloyd, Photography: The First Eighty Years (London: P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., 1976), pl. 411

Karen Haas, An Enduring Vision: Photographs from the Lane Collection (Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 2011), pl. 48 and p. 192

Monika Faber, Heinrich Kuehn and His American Circle: Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen (New York: Neue Galerie, 2012), p. 120

Lunn Gallery/Graphics International Ltd., Catalogue 6: Photo-Secession (Washington, D. C., 1977), pl. 146

This rich, hand-coated, gum-bichromate contact print is in generally excellent condition. It is on laid paper measuring approximately 17 by 11.5 inches. There are dark, wispy areas along the left and right edges of the paper where stray application of the gum-bichromate emulsion was exposed and developed. In raking light, thin, faint transparent streaks in the upper portion of the image are barely visible upon the closest examination. The margins are lightly soiled, and there is a small indentation along the lower margin edge. On the reverse of the print, the photographer's printing notations are written in pencil.
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.

The Austrian Pictorialist Heinrich Kühn was one of the foremost European members of the Photo-Secession.  As a crusader for photography's acceptance as fine art and as an organizer of exhibitions, he played a role on the Continent equal to that of Alfred Stieglitz in America.  His interest in photographic printing techniques led him to experiment with the complex gum-bichromate process, making it a more expressive tool for the Pictorial photographer.  His mastery of the process is evident in the portrait of Edward Steichen offered here.  Kühn's adept handling of the print's dark tonalities accentuates the impact of Steichen's gaze as he regards the camera directly. 

In Steichen, Kühn found an ideal subject for a portrait sitting.  Self-portraiture had been a component of Steichen's own work from his earliest days as a photographer and would continue to be so throughout his career.   As confident in front of the camera as behind it, Steichen was, in essence, made for a camera’s lens.  In Kühn's portrait, Steichen's piercing eyes suggest the intensity of his own artistic vision. 

The photograph offered here was made in Heinrich Kühn’s new townhouse in Innsbruck on July 30 or 31 of 1907.  This was Kühn’s first meeting with Steichen, who was touring  Bavaria in the company of Alfred Stieglitz and Frank Eugene.  Steichen had brought with him the first commercially-available autochrome plates, which intrigued Kühn, who later took up making autochromes with gusto.  

Harry Lunn, from whom the photograph was acquired, represented works from the Kühn estate for many years, beginning in the 1970s.