Alfred Stieglitz

large-format photogravure on vellum, signed, titled, and dated by the photographer and numbered '11014' and with cropping notations in an unidentified hand in pencil in the margin, tipped at all corners to a modern mount; accompanied by the rear wrapper of Nos. 7 - 8 of '291,' with a Vanity Fair use stamp, numbered '12060' in an unidentified hand in pencil, and annotated 'Keep clean. Return to Stieglitz c/o Geo. F. Of, 274 Madison' by the photographer in pencil on the reverse, matted, framed, 1907, printed in 1915

Acquired by the present owner from Scott Elliott of Helios Arts, Inc., New York, through Lunn Gallery/Graphics International Ltd., Washington, D. C., 1970s

Vanity Fair, August 1924, p. 54, there captioned 'Beyond the Quota—in the Steerage' (this print)

Other prints of this image:

Greenough 310

Camera Work Number 36 (New York, 1911), pl. 9

Dorothy Norman, Alfred Stieglitz: An American Seer (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, in conjunction with the exhibition), pl. 30

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

Doris Bry, Alfred Stieglitz: Photographer (Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1996, in conjunction with the exhibition), pl. 8

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. 1

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, Joel Snyder, David Travis, and Colin Westerbeck, On the Art of Fixing a Shadow: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Photography (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., and The Art Institute of Chicago, 1989, in conjunction with the exhibition), p. 212

This large-format photogravure on vellum is in generally excellent condition. In the margins, there is light soiling and what appear to be faint lines of discoloration, particularly at the left edge. These are likely the result of glue remains on the reverse of the margin only. In raking light, there is a barely noticeable 3/4-inch crease visible at the upper edge of the print near the right corner. None of these affects the otherwise attractive appearance of the print. Scott Elliott, who sold this photograph to the present owner, believes that it may have come from a descendant of Marius de Zayas.
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 photogravure of The Steerage offered here is the actual print sent by Stieglitz to Vanity Fair for publication in that magazine's August 1924 issue.  The print is signed, titled, and dated by Stieglitz himself, and in the wide margins are an editor's pencil crop marks, indicating exactly how much of the margins were to be reproduced.  Originally issued in large format in the avant-garde periodical '291,' the Steerage was presumably sent to the magazine in its '291' letterpress wrappers; present here is the rear wrapper, carrying the Vanity Fair use stamp and Stieglitz's careful manuscript instructions, 'Keep clean. Return to Stieglitz, c/o Geo. F. Of, 274 Madison.'  George F. Of was the preferred framemaker for Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O'Keeffe, and a number of other artists and Photo-Secessionist photographers.

Vanity Fair, a society magazine of the 1890s, became, under the direction of the legendary Frank Crowninshield, one of the most influential periodicals of its day.  From 1914 to 1936, Crowninshield expanded the scope of Vanity Fair's pages to include some of the best new talent in writing, art, and photography.  Gertrude Stein, Aldous Huxley, and P. G. Wodehouse were featured alongside Picasso, Matisse, and Covarrubias.  The Vanity Fair portraits by Cecil Beaton, Hoyningen-Huene, Nickolas Muray, and Edward Steichen have since become icons; and new work by photographers such as Man Ray and Charles Sheeler were first published on Vanity Fair's pages, including Sheeler's masterpiece, the Criss-Crossed Conveyors, Ford Plant, sold in these rooms in October 1999 (Sale 7348, Lot 87).