John Beasley Greene

albumenized salt print, framed, 1856

Sotheby's New York, 28 April 1999, Sale 7296, Lot 7, Lee Marks Fine Art as agent

Peter Galassi, Before Photography: Painting and the Invention of Photography (The Museum of Modern Art, 1981), no. 57 (this print)

Manfred Heiting, et al., At the Still Point: Photographs from the Manfred Heiting Collection, Volume I (Los Angeles and Amsterdam, 1995), p. 191

Grading this albumenized salt print on a scale of 1 to 10 – a 10 being a salt print with deep brown dark tones and highlights that retain all of their original detail – this print rates a 10. Its tones range from a rich purplish-brown to bright creamy highlights, and there is no fading or yellowing. Exceptional detail is visible where the bright sunlight shone upon the lush foliage, jagged rockface, and water's surface. This print is in generally very good condition. A few faint, long, linear creases that do not break the emulsion and a small, eraser-head-sized translucent deposit of indeterminate nature in the lower central portion of the image are visible upon very close examination in raking light. The print is trimmed to the image, and there are 2 tiny chips along the lower edge and a very small tear along the upper edge. The reverse of the print is hinged at the upper edge to a modern mat, with some resultant light rippling. On the reverse of the print are 2 small hinge remnants in the lower corners, and the number '1000.33.6' is in an unidentified hand in pencil.
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.

J. B. Greene, a founding member of the Société Française de Photographie, was perhaps the first archaeologist to utilize photography.  By 1853, Greene had mastered Gustave Le Gray's new waxed-paper process, and subsequently used it to photograph ruins and excavated sites in North Africa and the Middle East.  

Greene made two trips to Algeria, in late December of 1855 and in February of 1856, each time taking part in the excavation of the second century B. C. E. funerary monument, La Tombeau de la Chrétienne.  In early 1856, Greene photographed in the area around Constantine and near Algiers.  The image offered here may show the bank of the Rhummel, a river that flows through the deep gorge below the city of Constantine.  Alternatively, it may depict the dramatic landscape and caves near Tlemcen.

According to William Stapp, noted authority on Greene, prints of this image are scarce.  Prints have been located in the following institutional collections: The Museum of Modern Art; The Gilman Paper Company Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; The J. Paul Getty Museum; the Manfred Heiting Collection at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and The National Gallery of Canada.  Only one other print is believed to have been offered at auction, sold at Sotheby’s Paris in 2002 in an auction of photographs from photography collector and dealer André Jammes.