Laura Gilpin

possibly a waxed platinum print, the photographer's copyright in pencil on the image, dated in red ink on the reverse, 1930

Christie's New York, 22 October 2002, Sale 1135, Lot 173

William L. Schaeffer Photographs, Chester, Connecticut, 2003

The lush warm-tones - from rich, inky blacks to creamy, golden highlights - and delicate surface sheen of this print suggest that it is possibly a waxed platinum print. This photograph is in generally excellent condition. A dark, pin-point-sized deposit of indeterminate nature is visible in the upper sky area. Upon the closest examination, a few tiny, expertly applied deposits of original retouching are visible overall. There are thin remnants of drymounting tissue in the margins, suggesting that this print was previously affixed to a mount or mat window. There is minor wear to the edges and corners. On the reverse of the print, '1930' is written in red ink. Also on the reverse are hinge remnants along the upper edge.
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.

The Gilpin landscape offered here features the volcanic formation in northeastern New Mexico known as Shiprock.  In Navajo myth, Shiprock–called by the Navajos 'tse bit ' a' i' ('winged rock')–was once a giant bird that carried the ancient Navajo people away from their enemies and into a new land.  The rock's likeness to a 19th-century clipper ship accounts for its English name.  

Like Margaret Bourke-White, Paul Outerbridge, Ralph Steiner, and Doris Ulmann–all represented in the present catalogue–Laura Gilpin began her career in photography as a student at the Clarence White School.  That the school could inspire such a versatility of approach in the photographers it produced is a testament to its founder, Clarence White.  Bourke-White and Outerbridge became two of the most successful commercial photographers of their day.  Gilpin and Ulmann, however, followed a more uncharted route, especially for women photographers in the early 20th century.  

Both Gilpin and Ulmann left the Clarence White school and ventured into regions that for them were terra incognita: Ulmann to Appalachia and the American rural South, Gilpin to the American Southwest.  Their biographers describe the hundreds of miles of rough road each traveled to photograph these distinct regions and their inhabitants, producing bodies of work characterized by sensitivity and skill.  The image of Shiprock offered here is a document of this cultural geographic approach, in which the composition reflects the majesty of the landscape and its meaning to generations of indigenous peoples.  

 

"There is something infinitely appealing in this land which contains our oldest history.  Something which once known will linger in one's memory with a haunting tenacity."

Laura Gilpin