László Moholy-Nagy

signed and titled in ink, the photographer's 'moholy-nagy, berlin-chbg. 9, fredericiastr. 27 atelier' studio stamp on the reverse, 1930; accompanied by the original frame backing with a 'Julien Levy Gallery, 602 Madison Avenue, New York' label, with typed credit and title (2)

Der Querschnitt, May 1932, Year 12, Issue 5, opposite page 328

Variant:

Leland D. Rice and David W. Steadman, Photographs of Moholy-Nagy from the Collection of William Larson (Claremont College, 1975), p. 53

Andreas Haus, Photographs and Photograms: Moholy-Nagy (New York, 1980), pl. 10

László Moholy-Nagy: The Art of Light (Madrid, 2010), p. 43

This early warm-toned photograph is on double-weight paper with a nearly matte surface. Silvering is primarily visible in the dark areas near the print's periphery; a few tiny deposits, likely original retouching, have not silvered. There is minute edge wear and the corners are lightly bumped. Upon very close examination, a few very small rust-colored deposits are visible along the upper edge of the print. Pervasive yellowed adhesive remnants on the reverse of the print indicate that this photograph was previously mounted. Also on the reverse in an unidentified hand in pencil are the following: 'A 3373,' '14x11,' and a small hook-shaped diagram. There are tears, losses, and small tidelines to the original brown frame-backing paper. The Julien Levy Gallery label is age-darkened. The numbers '8419/65' are written in an unidentified hand in black crayon on the paper.
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 image offered here is one of at least two photographs made by Moholy-Nagy in 1930 from this elevated perspective above Stockholm.  As with his photographs taken above Marseille, Paris’s Eiffel Tower, and Berlin’s radio tower, among others, Stockholm demonstrates Moholy’s inventive use of a high vantage point to redefine and abstract pictorial space. 

This image was reproduced in the May 1932 issue of Der Querschnitt, a leading arts and culture journal of Weimar Germany.  Launched in 1921 by the influential German art dealer Alfred Flechtheim, Der Querschnitt illustrated several of Moholy’s photographs before the magazine was banned as subversive in 1936. 

The present photograph comes originally from the Julien Levy Gallery, which operated at 602 Madison Avenue from 1931 to 1937.  Moholy’s photographs were included in two of Levy’s first exhibitions, Surréalisme (January 1932) and Modern European Photographers (February-March 1932).  Levy first met Moholy and visited his Berlin studio in the summer of 1931.  Although Moholy had not yet exhibited in the United States (his premiere exhibition at Delphic Studios in New York was not until that fall), the prescient Levy purchased a number of photographs and photograms to show in his new gallery.