Walker Evans 1903-1975

titled, dated, annotated, and initialed by John T. Hill in pencil on the reverse, matted, framed, circa 1930

Purchased from the photographer by John T. Hill, 1968

Andrew Roth at Glenn Horowitz Bookseller, East Hampton, New York

Acquired by Nancy Richardson from the above, 1997

This warm-toned print, on single-weight paper with black margins, is in generally very good to excellent condition. The bottom left corner is creased, breaking the emulsion. In raking light, silvering is visible in the black margin and in the darker areas of the image. Also visible in raking light, and only in the margin, are a number of handling marks. The photograph is annotated 'Hands of Hart Crane, Brooklyn, 1930 (?), cut neg from 5x7, bought from Walker Evans 1968. JH.'
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.
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Walker Evans met the poet Hart Crane in 1928, when both were living in Brooklyn.  The two young men had much in common: both were raised in the Midwest, had fathers in the advertising industry, and were fascinated by New York City, which they explored endlessly in each other's company.  At the time, Crane was struggling to finish his long poem, The Bridge, which he had begun in the early 1920s, and took as its central metaphor the Brooklyn Bridge.  Between 1928 and 1930, Crane slowly pushed the poem toward completion, while contemplating its ideal published form.  He initially hoped to reproduce Joseph Stella's iconic painting of the bridge as an illustration to the poem.  By 1930, however, it was decided that Evans's photographs would be a more apt accompaniment.  When the book was published by Black Sun Press in 1930, it was the first time Evans's photographs had appeared in print.  

The photograph offered here was initially purchased from Evans by his friend, the photographer and professor John T. Hill, eventual executor of the photographer's estate.