Clarence H. White

platinum print, signed by the photographer in pencil and with his monogram in red pencil on the image, mounted to tissue, signed by the photographer in pencil on the tissue mount, mounted again to a cream-colored board, numbered '2' in an unidentified hand in pencil on the mount, signed and annotated 'G 6' and 'Platinum' by Mrs. Clarence H. White, the photographer's wife, in ink on the reverse, matted, framed, a Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico, exhibition label on the reverse, 1904

The estate of the photographer

His wife, Jane Felix White, inherited from the above

By descent to Clarence H. White, Jr.

His wife, Ruth R. White, inherited from the above 

Acquired by George Rinhart from the above, 1986

Acquired by Edwynn Houk Gallery, Chicago, from the above, 1986

Acquired by the Quillan Company from the above, 1989

Santa Fe, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico, In Camera, November 1993 - February 1994

Jill Quasha, The Quillan Collection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Photographs (New York, 1991), pl. 54 (this print)

This beautiful warm-toned platinum exhibition print has charcoal-like dark tones. The print is in near-excellent condition. An old loss to the lower right corner of the print has been skillfully repaired and retouched. Two smaller tears in the upper corners have been skillfully repaired and retouched and are only visible upon close examination. There is minor wear on the print's corners. These condition issues are not immediately apparent, and do not detract from the print's fine appearance. The primary tissue mount is quite clean. There is minor discoloration in the corners of the secondary mount.
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.

Unlike other key members of Alfred Stieglitz's Photo-Secession, Clarence H. White grew up, and matured as a photographer, far from New York City, in the small town of Newark, Ohio.  Self-taught, he worked as a clerk at a wholesale grocery while photographing his family and friends, in and out of doors, creating a body of work notable for both its technical and aesthetic sophistication and its quiet depiction of the inner lives of his subjects.  

White exhibited his work frequently from the very start of his career, and his photographs were widely admired.  While prints of The Canopied Bed are scarce, White included the image in at least two important early exhibitions: in the Photo-Secession exhibition at the Art Galleries of the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, in 1904; and the International Exhibition of Pictorial Photography at the Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, in 1910.   The print offered here--monogrammed on the image and double-mounted--is characteristic of White's classic presentation style.  In this expertly-rendered platinum print, White's sensitive handling of the dominant dark tones creates an image that is moody, but not brooding, and  captures a quiet domestic moment in a manner that is both evocative and unsentimental.