Robert Frank

flush-mounted to Masonite, a Museum of Modern Art exhibition label, with typed credit, title, and exhibition numbers, and a collection stamp on the reverse, 1953

The photographer to Robert Delpire

New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Postwar European Photography, May - August 1953

Philip Brookman, ed., Robert Frank-London/Wales (Zurich, 2003), p. 95

Robert Frank: Story Lines (London: Tate Modern, 2004), p. 75

This early exhibition print, with a subtle surface sheen, is in generally very good condition. It is trimmed to the image and flush-mounted to Masonite. The print has a faint texture (presumably from mounting) and is appropriately age-darkened overall. Under close examination, there is a small amount of age-appropriate silvering along the periphery. The edges and corners are bumped and lightly rubbed. There are a few areas of edge chipping, including two larger losses along the lower left edges. There are faint scratches, indentations and scuffs visible under raking light, all commensurate with age and not affecting the overall appearance of the print. There is a glossy deposit of indeterminate nature, measuring approximately 1/4-in., above the sitter's ear. The MoMA exhibition label has several handwritten notations in pencil: 'D.4'; 'LX' [underlined]; and '2.' There is a small white label with 'LB 468' written in blue ink in an unidentified hand. There are two linen and twill hanging strips on the reverse, one of which has a Robert Delpire collection stamp. There is a slight amount of soiling on the reverse and at the Masonite edges.
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.

This print was included in the 1953 exhibition Postwar European Photography at The Museum of Modern Art. Organized by Edward Steichen, the director of the Department of Photography, this unprecedented large-scale exhibition featured work by nearly 80 photographers from 11 countries and included more than 300 photographs, 22 of which were by Frank. This exhibition, which followed an extensive European tour Steichen had made in 1952, was an important precursor to Steichen’s blockbuster Family of Man exhibition of 1955. Steichen and Frank had developed a close association after meeting in 1950, and Frank introduced Steichen to several Swiss photographers, whose work was represented in both exhibitions.

This photograph is from a series of images Frank made while traveling through South Wales. Sixteen photographs from this project were published in ‘Ben James: Story of a Welsh Miner,’ a dedicated photo essay across six double-page spreads in US Camera 1955.

Robert Frank gave this print and that in Lot 63 to Robert Delpire, the influential French publisher, writer, curator, gallerist, and filmmaker.  Known for his encouragement of and friendships with many of the 20^th century’s photographic luminaries—among them Henri Cartier-Bresson, Brassaï, and Josef Koudelka—Delpire was the first to publish an extensive body of photographs by Robert Frank and is most notably responsible for the 1958 publication of Les Américains, a year before it appeared in print in the United States.