Lot 159
  • 159

Emmet Gowin

Estimate
25,000 - 35,000 USD
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Description

  • Emmet Gowin
  • 'CONCERNING AMERICA AND ALFRED STIEGLITZ, AND MYSELF'
(Richmond, Virginia:  self-published, 1965, an edition of 100 copies), a book illustrated with 14 photographs, each mounted, with text selected from the volume America and Alfred Stieglitz: A Collective Portrait.  4to, pictorial wrappers with printed drawings by Emmet Gowin (Book of 101 Books, pp. 172-3) 

Provenance

Gift of the photographer, circa 1965, to the present owner, at that time an art instructor at Richmond Professional Institute

Condition

The photographs are in generally excellent condition. The binding is tight. The wrappers are soiled.
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.

Catalogue Note

The present owner of this volume writes,

'I knew Emmet as a casual acquaintance through mutual friends during the time I was an instructor in the Commercial Art Department at Richmond Professional Institute [now Virginia Commonwealth University] in the 1960s.  Emmet was working on his BFA during that time, and a thesis project was required to complete the degree.  Emmet chose to produce a book illustrated with prints of his photographs to fulfill that requirement. Emmet approached me one day on campus, and asked me if I would like to have a copy of his book.  I liked what I had seen of his work to that point, and thought he and his wife were interesting people, so I said, "Sure would." Years later, after I was aware of Emmet's success in the art world, I cut out the review of his New York show [A. D. Coleman's 12 March 1972 New York Times review of Gowin's show at Light Gallery] and placed it inside the back cover of the book.'

Emmet Gowin, a native of Danville, Virginia, was a student at Richmond Professional Institute in Richmond, Virginia, from 1961 to 1965.  RPI, as it was known, had one of the leading college art departments in the South at that time.  In 1968, RPI merged with the Medical College of Virginia, also in Richmond, to form Virginia Commonwealth University, or VCU. (In its entry for Gowin's volume, the Book of 101 Books erroneously refers to this as a 'Virginia community college,' which is far from the case).  VCU continues to have an international reputation in art and design, offering courses in the fine arts, painting and drawing, printmaking, ceramics, glass, multi-media, fiber arts, and interior design, among other subjects.