Robert Frank

signed, titled, and dated '1955' in ink in the margin, numerical notations in pencil on the reverse, framed, Bloom Collection and Pace Wildenstein MacGill labels on the reverse, 1955, printed in the 1970s

Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York, 1997

The Americans, no. 19

Sarah Greenough, Looking In: Robert Frank’s The Americans, pp. 233 and 466, and Contact no. 19

William Stott, 'Walker Evans, Robert Frank and The Landscape of Dissociation,' artscanada, December 1974, p. 89

Robert Frank (Aperture), p. 81

Helen Gee, Photography of the Fifties: An American Perspective, p. 157

Tod Papageorge, Walker Evans and Robert Frank: An Essay on Influence, p. 55

Robert Frank, Robert Frank, pl. 35

Mike Weaver, ed., The Art of Photography, 1839-1989, pl. 322

Robert Frank, The Lines of My Hand (Parkett/Der Alltag), unpaginated

Sarah Greenough and Philip Brookman, Robert Frank: Moving Out, p. 172

Tom E. Hinson, The Cleveland Museum: Catalogue of Photography, p. 169

Michael Shelden, 'Melancholy and Menace,' Telegraph Magazine, 3 May 2008, pp. 30-31

Peter Galassi, Robert Frank: In America, p. 66

David Campany, The Open Road: Photography & The American Road Trip, p. 44

This print, on double-weight paper with a semi-glossy surface, is in generally excellent condition. There are a few pale soiled areas on the reverse. The following is written in an unidentified hand in pencil on the reverse: '1906-I' and 'RF.A.019.3.' It is believed that only one other print of this image has 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.

It is extremely rare for a photographer to have two outstanding images on a single roll of film.  It is even more unusual to find them both on the same strip of only five exposures.  New Orleans (Canal Street) was made just moments before Frank swiveled around and photographed New Orleans (Trolley) (Lot 10), the first of only two exposures of that subject. 

In total contrast to the compositional rigor of the people fixed within the trolley car windows, New Orleans (Canal Street) presents a cross-section of society – old, young, black, white, tall, short – everyone mixed together in the bustle of a busy city sidewalk.  Nothing separates one pedestrian from another.  Except for one man in the left portion of the image, all are unaware of the photographer and, seemingly, of one another.  The photograph shows what the segregated passengers would have seen from the trolley windows.