Alfred Stieglitz

large-format photogravure on Japan tissue, signed by the photographer in pencil in the margin, mounted, matted, signed, titled, and dated by the photographer and with his 'With permission An American Place, Kindly Return Photo. Keep Clean' stamp on the reverse of the overmat, in a contemporary frame, an American Place letterpress label, signed, titled, dated, annotated 'original photogravure print,' and inscribed 'For Andrew Droth, Nov. 16 - 1944' by the photographer in ink, 1907

The photographer to Andrew Droth, 1944

Collection of Walter Johnson, Columbus, Ohio

Acquired by the present owner from the above, 1979

Other prints of this image:

Greenough 310

Camera Work Number 36 (1911)

Dorothy Norman, Alfred Stieglitz: An American Seer (New York: Aperture, 1973), pl. XVI

Sarah Greenough, Modern Art and America: Alfred Stieglitz and His New York Galleries (Washington, D. C.: National Gallery of Art, 2000), pl. 30

Sarah Greenough and Juan Hamilton, Alfred Stieglitz: Photographs and Writings (Washington, D. C.: National Gallery of Art, 1983), pl. 18

Therese Mulligan, ed., The Photography of Alfred Stieglitz: Georgia O'Keeffe's Enduring Legacy (Rochester: George Eastman House, 2000), fig. 9

William Innes Homer, Stieglitz and the American Avant-Garde (Boston, 1977), pl. 34

Robert Doty, Photo-Secession: Photography as a Fine Art (Rochester: George Eastman House, 1960), pl. I

Waldo Frank, Dorothy Norman, et al., America and Alfred Stieglitz (New York, 1934), pl. XXVII - B

Jonathan Green, ed., Camera Work: A Critical Anthology (Aperture, 1973), p. 307

Beaumont Newhall, The History of Photography from 1839 to the Present Day (The Museum of Modern Art, 1964), p. 112

Sarah Greenough, et al., On the Art of Fixing a Shadow: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Photography (National Gallery of Art and The Art Institute of Chicago, 1989), p. 212

This photogravure is in generally good condition. A 1/8-inch disruption of the surface of the gravure is visible in the lower portion of the print. When examined in raking light, small scuffs and rubbing are visible on the surface in the lower central portion, most notably at the center of the gangplank, where some of the gravure's paper fibers have been disturbed. The period wood frame resembles the metal Stieglitz-style frame. The frame's backing is soiled, abraded at the periphery, and has some remnants of what may have been cloth tape remains.
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 a gift from Alfred Stieglitz to Andrew Droth.  Droth originally arrived at The American Place for six weeks in 1934 to help mat, frame, and mount Stieglitz's 70^th birthday exhibition and remained for twelve years.

Ansel Adams, Sue Davidson Lowe, and Dorothy Norman describe him as skillful, unassuming, patient, and devoted, despite his own delicate health.  In July 1945, Stieglitz wrote to Adams to thank him for a package of photographs that included gifts for Droth as well.

'Andrew will be delighted with the prints for him.  He is certainly Old Faithful--most essential at the Place' (Letters & Images, p. 159).

And Dorothy Norman writes in Alfred Stieglitz: An American Seer, that Stieglitz spoke of Droth thus,

'He is my mainstay--devoid of all intellectualities and curiosities.  He doesn't smoke or drink--is absolutely prompt and reliable--a first-class workman.  What I'd do without him I don't know.  No one can replace him' (p. 200).

On July 10, 1946, when Droth arrived at Stieglitz's apartment at noon to bring the mail, he found the photographer unconscious on the floor. Stieglitz had suffered a massive stroke and died three days later.