Arthur Siegel 1913-1979

oversized photogram, a unique object, mounted to Crescent board, signed and dated by the photographer in pencil on the reverse, matted, framed, 1948

Stephen Cohen Gallery, Los Angeles

Acquired by Nancy Richardson from the above, 1998

This very large and impressive photogram is in very good condition. When examined closely in raking light, several small abrasions can be seen in the print's surface: the two most noticeable of these are ¾-inch long and in the lower left quadrant of the image; they break the emulsion slightly. There is a handling crease near the center of the left edge that was present in the print prior to mounting. There is general wear on the print's edges. None of these condition issues are immediately apparent, and they do not impact negatively upon the print's overall fine appearance.
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.

Arthur Siegel first attended Chicago's New Bauhaus, headed by László Moholy-Nagy, in 1938. When the school temporarily closed its doors due to a failure of funding, Siegel returned to his home city of Detroit and worked as a professional photographer.  During the war, Siegel served as a government photographer, and just before its end, he was asked by Moholy-Nagy to formulate a photography curriculum for the newly-minted Institute of Design.  As head of the photography program, Siegel was responsible for configuring a course of photographic study that held true to the core of Moholy's educational concepts, but was sufficiently practical to serve the influx of career-minded students entering the school on the GI Bill.  In 1946, Siegel hired his friend, Harry Callahan, as a teacher of photography.  Siegel resigned in 1949, and Callahan succeeded him as head of the photography department.  Siegel taught occasionally at the Institute of Design throughout the 1950s and 60s, and he was hired once again as a full-time teacher by Aaron Siskind in 1969. He became chair of the department in 1971, and taught there until his death.

Siegel's own highly-accomplished photographic work crossed a wide range of categories.  Perhaps his best-known image, Right of Assembly, is photojournalistic in nature, yet there was always an experimental component to Siegel's work that included multiple exposures, color work, and, as seen in this and following lot, photograms.  The photogram process, in which objects are placed directly onto a sheet of photographic paper and exposed to light, was, for Moholy and Siegel, fundamental to the understanding of photography.  As a didactic exercise, the photogram gave the photographer an understanding of the nature of light, its action upon photo-sensitive materials, and the myriad ways in which it could be manipulated.  As a tool for expression, the photogram offered infinite possibilities to the imaginative photographer.  Siegel was a master of the form, as the two large-scale, wholly abstract, works offered here demonstrate.