Robert Frank

flush-mounted, mounted again to Crescent illustration board, signed, titled, and dated in ink on the mount, 1955, printed no later than 1966

The collection of Sol Mednick

Donated to the Philadelphia College of Art, 1966

Christie's East, 8 November 1983, Sale 5421, Lot 106

Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York

Private collection

Sotheby's New York, 16 October 2004, Sale 8018, Lot 156

Robert Frank, The Americans (New York, 1995), cover and p. 11

Sarah Greenough, Looking In: Robert Frank's The Americans (Washington, D. C.: National Gallery of Art, 2009), cover, pp. 211, 460, and Contact #1

Du, "Der Photograph Robert Frank," January 1962, p. 16

Robert Frank, Lines of My Hand (New York, 1989), unpaginated

Sarah Greenough and Philip Brookman, Robert Frank: Moving Out (Washington, D. C.: National Gallery of Art, 1994), p. 175

Robert Frank (Aperture, 1976), cover

Robert Frank: Story Lines (London: Tate Modern, 2004), frontispiece 3

John Szarkowski, The Photographer's Eye (The Museum of Modern Art, 1966), p. 155

John Szarkowski, Photography Until Now (The Museum of Modern Art, 1989), p, 258

Peter Galassi, American Photography, 1890-1965 (The Museum of Modern Art, 1995), p. 215

Peter Galassi, Walker Evans & Company (The Museum of Modern Art, 2000), pl. 316

Aside from some light, inconsequential wear on the edges of this print, it is in generally excellent condition. In raking light, a few tiny deposits of original retouching are barely visible. The print is mounted to gray Crescent illustration board. There is a nick at the lower edge of the mount. There is a soft 7-inch crease in the upper left corner of the mount, which does not affect the image.
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.

This early print of Robert Frank's Hoboken was acquired originally by photographer and educator Sol Mednick (1916 - 1970).  Born in Philadelphia, Mednick’s early interest in art led him to the Philadelphia College of Art, and later to the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art, where he studied design under the influential Alexey Brodovitch.  After World War II, Mednick worked as a freelance illustrator, designer, and photographer in New York City and Philadelphia.  In 1951, he began teaching photography at the Philadelphia College of Art, splitting his time between teaching and freelance photography jobs.  His connection to the commercial world enabled him to teach his students the skills they would need to become successful professionals.  Under his stewardship, the College Photography Department grew to ten faculty members and eventually included courses in film, television, and sound.  He was a founding member of the Society for Photographic Educators. The Sol Mednick Gallery at the Philadelphia College of Art, now the University of the Arts, was named for him.

Mednick’s passion for photography led him to build an impressive collection of work by important photographers, including Robert Frank, Diane Arbus, Eugene Atget, and Brett Weston.  He must have been personally acquainted with some of them: his print of Arbus’s Burlesque Comedienne, Atlantic City, N. J., was inscribed by Arbus to ‘Dear Sol, The First.'  In 1966, he donated a group of these photographs to the Philadelphia College of Art.  When it was decided that it was unfeasible for the college to store, maintain, and insure works of this value, however, the collection was sold at auction.  The photograph offered here was among that group.