Robert Frank

signed, titled, and dated '1955' in ink in the margin, the archive stamp, with title, 'The Americans 38,' and '814' and with numerical notations in pencil, on the reverse, framed, Bloom Collection and James Danziger Gallery labels on the reverse, 1955, printed in the 1970s

James Danziger Gallery, New York, 1998

The Americans, no. 38

Sarah Greenough, Looking In: Robert Frank’s The Americans, pp. ii-iii, 256, and 471, and Contact no. 38

John Szarkowski, The Photographer’s Eye, p. 138

Jack Kerouac, ‘On the Road to Florida,’ Evergreen Review, January 1970, pp. 44-5

Tod Papageorge, Walker Evans and Robert Frank: An Essay on Influence, p. 43

Robert Frank, Robert Frank, pl. 40

Sarah Greenough and Philip Brookman, Robert Frank: Moving Out, p. 182

Reflections in a Glass Eye: Works from the International Center of Photography Collection, pl. 12

Peter Galassi, Walker Evans & Company, pl. 58

Robert Frank: Story Lines, frontispiece 1

Peter Galassi, Robert Frank: In America, p. 85

This print, on heavy double-weight paper with a slight surface sheen, is in generally excellent condition. There are thin black margins at the periphery of the image. The lower right margin corner is slightly bumped. The Robert Frank Archive stamp is annotated as follows in an unidentified hand in pencil: 'The Americans 38' 'Barbershop Through Screen Door - McClellanville, South Carolina' '814' Other notations in pencil on the reverse are '12' and 'WJC 226,' and a very faint '33' (circled and upside-down). When examined in ultraviolet light, this print appears to fluoresce slightly. It is believed that only 8 other prints of this image have previously been offered at auction.
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.

Frank’s multi-layered image of a barbershop in McClellanville, South Carolina, recalls a key image in Walker Evans’s 1938 book, American Photographs.  Evans was a crucial influence on Frank, and he provided the younger photographer with a great deal of help upon his arrival in New York.  It was with Evans’s considerable support that Frank won his two successive Guggenheim fellowships.  Evans’s Negro Barbershop Interior, Atlanta, was made with a large-format camera, and constitutes a more straightforward account of its ramshackle subject.  Detail is visible throughout, to the extent that the headlines of the newspapers covering the shop’s walls are legible.  Frank’s image of similar subject matter, made 19 years later, adopts a wholly different style.  Working with his 35mm camera, Frank captures the shop interior, but frames it within the reflection of the houses across the street.  A third layer exists in this image: the shadowed outline of Frank’s own reflection is visible, making the image a subtle self-portrait.  Frank’s inclusion of himself is a rare occurrence in this period of his career; in the 1970s, his photographic work would become increasingly autobiographical.