Robert Frank

signed, titled, and dated in ink in the margin, the photographer's 'Credit Photo To Robert Frank' stamp, his copyright stamp, with credit and date in ink, and his 'Robert Frank Archive' stamp, with title, date, and number '332' in pencil, on the reverse, 1947

Lunn Gallery/Graphics International Ltd., Washington, D. C., 1979

Sarah Greenough, Philip Brookman, et al., Robert Frank: Moving Out (Washington, D. C.: National Gallery of Art, 1994), p. 64

Sarah Greenough, Looking In: Robert Frank's The Americans (Washington, D. C.: National Gallery of Art., 2009), p. 68

This very slightly warm-toned print, on double-weight paper with a slight surface sheen, is in generally very good condition. The edges are somewhat rubbed, the corners are bumped, and there is very light soiling in the margins. There are 2 pinpoint accretions in the puddle near the lower margin. When examined in high raking light, there are 9 linear indentations in the area of the central chair backs and in the area of the chair seats at the left. In addition, there are linear indentations in the leg of the left center chair. This appears to be almost purposeful, possibly to delineate the leg itself. The reverse of the print is lightly soiled, and there is slight age-darkening at the periphery. When examined with ultraviolet light, this print does not appear to fluoresce.
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.

During his 1949 sojourn in Paris, chairs—mostly empty, but sometimes occupied by individuals or by inanimate objects—were a common theme in Robert Frank's photography.  This image was part of a sequence of chair studies in Mary's Book, a unique handmade photographic volume that Frank assembled in December 1949 for Mary Lockspeiser, whom he married in 1950. 

Frank's late 1940s photographs of Paris are unique within his early work for their atmospheric and sometimes romantic quality.  This characteristic is notably absent in the far grittier photographs that comprise Frank's Americans series, done in the 1950s.  It is not until the collagistic work that Frank began in the 1970s that emotional content and more personal themes would become present once again in his images.