Paul Strand

flush-mounted, mounted again, signed 'Photograph by Paul Strand,' titled, and dated in green ink, and annotated 'Do Not Crop' in pencil, and with a Museum of Modern Art 'Exhibition of Photographs 1915-1945 by Paul Strand' typed label on a coversheet affixed to the reverse of the mount along the top edge, 1931

Acquired from Galerie zur Stockeregg, Zurich, 2009

Paul Strand, Katalog 5, Galerie zur Stockeregg, pl. 45 (this print)

Maren Strange, ed., Paul Strand, Essays on His Life and Work (Aperture, 1990), pl. 30, p. 96

The Transition Years: Paul Strand in New Mexico (Museum of New Mexico, 1989), fig. 16

This somewhat neutral print is on paper with a smooth surface and delicate sheen. It exhibits a great range of gray tones and rich dark blacks. Aside from minor wear and chipping at the print's edges, this print is essentially in very good condition. In raking light, faint silvering is visible in the dark areas, as are scattered deposits of original retouching overall. The print is trimmed to the image, and it is mounted to gray board that has been trimmed to 10-1/8-by-8-inches. There are small, glossy adhesive remains and 2 rust-colored deposits of indeterminate nature on the mount. The corners of the mount are bumped and the lower right corner is lightly creased. The reverse of the mount is soiled and appropriately age-darkened. On the reverse of the mount, 'SW-Land #416,' '#117,' and '4132/8-1/110' are written in an unidentified hand in pencil. There are 3 linen tape hinge remnants (measuring no longer than 3½-inches) along the left and right edges. A coversheet is hinged to the reverse of the mount with 2 small pieces of rice paper tape. It likely was originally affixed along the upper edge to the mount, but has since become detached. There are small tears at the edges of the coversheet and it is appropriately worn. Strand originally dated the coversheet '1931' in green ink; the date was subsequently amended in pencil. The Museum of Modern Art label reads as follows: 'Exhibition of PHOTOGRAPHS 1915-1945 BY PAUL STRAND April 25 - June 10, 1945 The Museum of Modern Art 11 West 53 St., New York PLEASE RETURN TO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART [underlined in red crayon]' If a press print, this would not be considered a 'press print' in the way we use that term today. As we stated in our introduction to 'Photographs from The Museum of Modern Art,' the catalogue for our April 2001 auction, in which several publicity or promotional prints were offered: 'From the 1930s to the 1950s, it was not uncommon for photographers to provide The Museum of Modern Art with more than one print of photographs selected for an exhibition. The first print was intended for the exhibition itself, the other—or occasionally, two or three others—were to be made available to the press, for publicity for the exhibition. The practice arose because it was easier and cheaper for the photographer to make one, or a few, extra prints, than for the Museum to make a copy negative and a copy print.'
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.

According to Strand authority Anthony Montoya, this print is one of only two contact prints Strand made from the negative.  The J. Paul Getty Museum owns a contact print in platinum, likely the print included in Strand’s important 1945 retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art.  Montoya speculates that the present photograph may have been used in conjunction with the exhibition’s catalogue and possibly for publicity, but points out that it would have been printed by Strand, like the platinum print, in accordance with his exacting standards.  A later-printed gelatin silver enlargement of the image is in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.