Alfred Stieglitz

carbon print, titled and dated by the photographer in pencil on the reverse, matted, framed, 1904

Christie's East, 8 November 1982, Sale 5215, Lot 219

Acquired by the present owner from the above

This carbon print has the exceptionally rich deep darks and sepia tonality characteristic of this process. The delicate sheen on the print's surface is almost certainly due to Stieglitz's application of a wax or varnish coating – a typical practice for the photographer. This beautiful print is essentially in excellent condition. The small white spot in the upper right quadrant – adjacent to the subject's hat – appears to be due to an imperfection in the negative and not in the print itself. There is very minor wear on the print's edges. On the reverse, there is discoloration across the top edge, possibly an adhesive residue from a prior mounting.
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 photograph offered here is one of a small group of studies of a woman identified by Alfred Stieglitz only as 'Miss S. R.'  Each of the three studies is a head-and-shoulders portrait made from the same vantage point, with the sitter shifting only slightly.  These small shifts, however, make a significant difference to the impact of each pose, and the picture offered here is notable for its candid, natural quality.  The present photograph may be unique; as of this writing, Stieglitz authority Dr. Sarah Greenough has located no other prints of this image. 

The 'Miss S. R.' portraits were made by Stieglitz during a trip to Europe in 1904.  The best known of these (Greenough 298) is reproduced as a photogravure in Camera Work Number 12 (1905), and again in Camera Work Number 41 (1913), one of the few instances in which Stieglitz used one of his own photographs in Camera Work twice.  Greenough points out that Stieglitz contributed works variously titled 'Miss S. R.,' 'Miss S. R.—Vienna,' and 'Portrait, S. R.,' to at least five exhibitions in the United States and Europe in the early years of the twentieth century, although it is not known which portraits of Miss S. R. are referred to in these instances. 

Greenough speculates that the sitter may be Sophie Raab, possibly the daughter or other relative of Dr. Fritz Raab, who, in addition to his career as a physician, was also an amateur painter and photographer and a friend of Frank Eugene and Edward Steichen. Greenough notes that in 1907, Stieglitz was a guest of Dr. Raab in Tutzing, Austria, where he made autochromes of both Dr. Raab and Sophie Raab, who looks not unlike the subject in the photograph offered here (Greenough 316 and 319).  

Portraits, both formal and informal, were a consistent preoccupation throughout Stieglitz's career.  Unlike his fellow Photo-Secessionist Edward Steichen, however, who went on to become one of the highest-paid commercial photographers of all time, Stieglitz rarely produced portraits for money.  His portrait photographs, made almost exclusively of family and friends, were undertaken instead as an aesthetic exploration of character and personality.