Robert Frank

oversized, titled and dated '1956' and signed and dated '1976' in ink in the margin, numerical notation in pencil on the reverse, framed, 1954, printed circa 1970

Acquired from the photographer

Private Collection

Christie's New York, 6 October 2011, Sale 2470, Lot 76

The Americans, no. 17

Sarah Greenough, Looking In: Robert Frank’s The Americans, pp. 231 and 466, and Contact no. 17

U. S. Camera [Annual] 1958, p. 95

Willy Rotzler, ‘Der Photograph Robert Frank,’ Du, January 1962, p. 13

LIFE Library of Photography: Documentary Photography, p. 174

Peter C. Bunnell, 'Certain of Robert Frank's Photographs . . . ,' The Print Collector's Newsletter, July/August 1976, p. 81

Tod Papageorge, Walker Evans and Robert Frank: An Essay on Influence, p. 21

Mike Weaver, ed., The Art of Photography, 1839-1989, pl. 327

Marianne Fulton, Eyes of Time: Photojournalism in America, p. 179

Sarah Greenough, Joel Snyder, David Travis, and Colin Westerbeck, On the Art of Fixing a Shadow: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Photography, pp. 344 and 356

Sarah Greenough and Philip Brookman, Robert Frank: Moving Out, p. 183

Tom E. Hinson, The Cleveland Museum: Catalogue of Photography, p. 168

Peter Galassi, Robert Frank: In America, p. 96

Nicholas Dawidoff, ‘Hidden America,’ The New York Times Magazine, 5 July 2015, p. 39

This print, on heavy double-weight semi-glossy paper, is in generally very good condition. The margin edges are rubbed and very slightly age-darkened, and the margin corners are bumped. In raking light, soft handling creases are visible in the lower portion of the image and in the left and right margins. On the reverse of the print, 'RF-1663' is written in an unidentified hand in pencil. It is believed that only 7 prints of this image, including this print, 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 structured The Americans in four parts, each beginning with the symbolically-charged American flag.  Jay, N. Y. (Fourth of July), with its colossal vertically-suspended flag, begins the second section of The Americans.  Frank’s multi-layered composition presents a few mysteries.  The flag has no visible support and seems to float in mid-air.  The flag’s scale in relation to the people, as well as their placement in front of or behind it, is ambiguous.  Finally, the flag’s translucence reveals the landscape and people beyond. While the torn and patched flag dominates the scene both physically and metaphorically, it calls attention to the enigmatic composition of the photograph and its graphic qualities.

During Frank’s travels, American flags were pervasive and prominently flown in celebration of the 10^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.  When asked about the recurrence of the national symbol in his photographs, Frank said, ‘I liked the visual, graphic image of that flag. I think it’s a very good flag.’  Formally and conceptually, Jay, N. Y. (Fourth of July), demonstrates Frank’s affinity with the art of his contemporaries.  Many of his friends and neighbors in New York and Paris in the 1950s were artists, as are his first and second wives, Mary Frank and June Leaf.  While Frank’s technical education was in photography, he had an initiation to art through his friendships.  In his view, he was influenced by the passion and lifestyle of his artist friends more so than by the work itself.

The quote above is from a taped 1967 interview in the collection of the Eastman Museum of Photography.  These tapes were rediscovered and transcribed by Stuart Alexander in the 1980s.  While the transcript has been published in German (in Katalog, vol. 9, no. 4, Fall 1997; and Essays über Robert Frank, Fotomuseum Winterthur/Fotostiftung Schweiz, 2005), it has yet to be published in English.