Robert Frank

signed and dated '1955' in ink in the margin, the archive and copyright stamps, with credit, date, and annotations in pencil or ink, on the reverse, framed, 1955, printed in the 1970s

Sotheby's New York, 6 October 1999, Sale 7348, Lot 368

The Americans, no. 83

Sarah Greenough, Looking In: Robert Frank’s The Americans, pp. 311 and 483, and Contact no. 83

'Books of the Year,' Photography Annual 1961, p. 198

John Szarkowski, The Photographer’s Eye, p. 86

Robert Frank (Aperture), p. 47

Robert A. Sobieszek, Masterpieces of Photography from the George Eastman House Collections, p. 346

Judith Mara Gutman, 'One-Shot Hero,' Connoisseur, November 1987, p. 139

Peter Galassi, American Photography, 1890-1965, frontispiece

Cruel and Tender: The Real in the Twentieth Century Photograph (Tate Modern), p. 115

Robert Frank: Story Lines, frontispiece 6

Nicholas Dawidoff, ‘Hidden America,’ The New York Times Magazine, 5 July 2015, p. 47

This impressive print, with a range of tones and on heavy double-weight paper with a semi-glossy surface, is in generally excellent condition. The ink signature and date are dark brown. In addition to the copyright stamp, with credit and date '1979' in ink, and a 'Robert Frank Archive' stamp that has '83' (for Americans sequence number) and '618,' there is a numerical notation '123' in the center of the reverse of the print. These notations are in pencil. It is believed that only 6 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.

Robert Frank, along with certain photographers of his generation, transformed photojournalism into a form of personal expression.  Frank, Elliott Erwitt, and W. Eugene Smith, among others, photographed from their own unique viewpoint.  Each went so far as to violate the illusion of an impersonal eye by including family members in their work.  U. S. 90, En Route to Del Rio, Texas, features Frank’s wife, Mary, and their children, Pablo and Andrea, peering sleepily through the windshield.  They accompanied him on portions of his cross-country journey.  As the last plate in the book, it serves as something of a curtain call.  From the time of the completion of The Americans, all of Frank’s work, both in cinema and photography, grew ever more personal.