Paul Outerbridge, Jr.

color carbro print, signed and dated in ink in the image, mounted, in the original gold mat, framed, 1933

This color carbro print is in generally very good condition. Between the margins and on the perimeter of the print area intended for display (14 1/2 by 11 1/4 in.), there is an area between one and 1 1/2 inches that is less saturated in tone. There is a 1/4-inch scratch that is slightly visible in the front orange flower (left). In raking light, faint scuffing of the surface is barely visible. There are a few pinpoint areas of color, mostly yellow, on the print's surface. These stray dots of color--often cyan, magenta, and yellow--are typical of the carbro process. The mount is soiled on the front and back. There are dried adhesive remains on the front of the mount overall from the original overmat. There is a horizontal cropping line to denote the bottom edge for display/overmatting. The mount's edges are rubbed. The reverse of the mount exhibits age-darkening at the periphery, and there are two penciled rectangles near the center.
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 Still Life with Red and Blue Flowers offered here is one of the earliest extant examples of Outerbridge's work with color photography.  The date of the image, 1933, is the year the photographer renovated his studio in Monsey, New York, to accommodate the technical demands of the color process.  Prior to 1930, Outerbridge's work had comprised a series of black-and-white platinum and silver prints, typically small in scale and rigorously composed (cf. Lots 90 – 93).  His experiments with carbro and other processes from the early 1930s on transformed his oeuvre, making him an internationally acknowledged master of photography in color. 

In his definitive volume, Photographing in Color (New York, 1940, p. 57), Outerbridge recommends the genre of still life to photographers beginning work with color processes.  In his opinion, the still life had much to recommend it: '[it] takes up less space and does not move; therefore less light is required.  It stays where you put it, so that you can come back to it and make whatever changes in the composition or arrangement, lighting, or exposure . . . moreover, it is the cheapest thing that you can photograph if you want to make separations and prints.'  But, as he points out, 'to put life into still life, into inanimate objects, to create new rhythms and patterns requires imagination.'   

The photograph offered here demonstrates the photographer following his own advice to the letter.  Although an early and probably experimental picture, the Still Life displays a color palette that is daring.  The reds, blues, and greens are vivid, infusing the picture with an otherworldly quality.  Close examination reveals that the tiny halo of red lines on some of the petals appears to have been added by hand in gouache or watercolor. The photograph is in complete contrast to another, very similar composition of a vase with flowers that Outerbridge had printed in platinum over a decade before (cf. Singular Aesthetic, pl. 122).  The earlier image is lyrical and serene; the present image explodes with color and expressiveness. 

The Still Life offered here may be the only print of this image extant.  It does not appear in any of the Outerbridge literature and, at the time of this writing, no other print has been located.  Although there were undoubtedly a number of discarded attempts in his first years with the color carbro process, the present print is one that the photographer saved.