Lot 176
  • 176

Harry Callahan

Estimate
15,000 - 25,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Harry Callahan
  • Ice
  • gelatin silver print
flush-mounted to Crescent illustration board, circa 1950

Provenance

Acquired from the photographer, circa 1951

By descent to the present owner

Condition

This warm, tonally rich, early print is in overall excellent condition. There is a tiny yellow stain of indeterminate nature in the upper right quadrant. In raking light, there are a few tiny impressions scattered overall as well as a larger linear impression near the center. The mount is credited 'Harry Callahan' in an unidentified hand in ink on the reverse.
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.

Catalogue Note

Another example of Callahan’s studies of the frozen waters of Chicago can be found in Britt Salveson’s Harry Callahan: The Photographer at Work (pl. 14).  The photograph shown there (from the Harry Callahan Archive at the Center for Creative Photography), taken in the 1950s, pictures richly textured ice bordered by still, unfrozen water.  

The present photograph, a visually complex study of tone and texture, was gifted from the photographer in the early 1950s.  It is believed to be an exhibition print from Abstraction in Photography, an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art in the summer of 1951.  The checklist for the exhibition lists five photographs under the title ‘ICE – SERIES OF 5.’  All of the photographs from the exhibition eventually became part of MoMA's collection except for the five ice studies.