Edward Steichen

numbered '1158-25' in the negative, the photographer's 'Photography by Steichen, 80 West 40th Street, New York City' studio and Condé Nast copyright stamps and with title in pencil on the reverse, 1931

Christie's New York, 8 October 1993, Sale 7734, Lot 207

Joanna Steichen, ed., Steichen’s Legacy: Photographs, 1895-1973 (New York, 2000), pl. 195

Todd Brandow and William A. Ewing, Edward Steichen: Lives in Photography (Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography, Minneapolis, and the Musée de l'Elysée, Lausanne, 2007), pl. 148

Edward Steichen: Celebrity Design (Museum Folkwang, 2010), p. 83

This early contact print, slightly warm-toned and printed on double-weight paper with a semi-matte surface, is in generally excellent condition. It is mounted on off-white board. There are graphite crop marks at the top corners of the image on the mount. Excess dry mounting tissue is visible along the upper and left sides of the image. When examined in raking light, silvering is visible at the periphery of the print. There are adhesive remains across the top edge of the front of the mount. The mount is very lightly soiled on the front and back.
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 unusual view of the newly-constructed George Washington Bridge was one of a number of photographs of the bridge made by Steichen on assignment for Vanity Fair.  The Washington Bridge, as it was first known, was one of the engineering marvels of its day: when it opened in 1931, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. 

A number of photographers took what has become the classic view of the bridge, a straight-on perspective between the soaring towers, the graceful steel cables looping on either side.  Margaret Bourke-White’s photograph (see Lot 1), made on a bitter winter day, was published in a Fortune article on the Port Authority and has since become a Bourke-White icon.   Another of Steichen’s photographs from this assignment, also in this classic view genre, was chosen by Vanity Fair for its January 1932 issue.      

The photograph offered here, however, is a more complex picture of the bridge, the girders of one of the towers forming an abstraction of steel.  These massive towers were to be covered in granite when the bridge was finished, but the Depression intervened, and the structures were left in their functional state.  Steichen’s photograph celebrates this functionality, the framework of steel creating a web of strength in its lights and darks. 

At the time of this writing, only two other prints of this image have been located: one in a private collection, another in the Museum Folkwang, Essen.