Timothy O'Sullivan

albumen print, on the two-toned Wheeler Survey mount, the photographer's credit, title, 'No. 10,' and survey information in letterpress on the mount, 1873 (Newhall, O'Sullivan, pl. 37)

Acquired from William Lowdermilk's Bookshop, Washington, D. C., 1942

Grading this albumen print on a scale of 1 to 10 - 10 being an albumen print that has deep brown dark tones and highlights that retain all of their original detail - this print rates a very strong 10. This beautiful print has rich dark tones and creamy highlights. There are 2 faint linear diagonal scuffs in the lower right quadrant of the image, visible only when the print is examined closely in raking light. Various tiny deposits of original retouching are visible upon close examination. At the lower edge of the image, there is a small and inconsequential tear, which occurred prior to mounting. The original Wheeler Survey mount is somewhat sunned, and it is age-darkened at the periphery. There are several abrasions and a small tear at the right mount edge to the top paper ply, likely due to past contact with adhesive and an overmat. The mount corners are bent. The reverse of the mount is age-darkened overall. Stamped in the lower right corner on the reverse is '$2.00.' Written in an unidentified hand in pencil is the following: 'Newhall 16 x 20,' 'Raw 1169,' and 'Cream Mat.'
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.

The photograph in this and the following five lots are from the Estate of Beaumont and Nancy Newhall, two of the 20th-century's most influential critics, writers, and curators of photography.  Beaumont Newhall (1908-1993) was the first curator of the Department of Photography at The Museum of Modern Art and later served as curator, and then director, of the International Museum of Photography at the George Eastman House.  Newhall's pioneering 1937 exhibition, Photography 1839–1937, and subsequent volumes on the history of the medium, influenced decades of scholars and general audiences alike.  His wife Nancy Newhall (1908-1974), also a prolific author and curator, produced landmark monographs on Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, and Paul Strand, among others.  The Newhalls' personal friendships with many of the leading photographers of their day cemented their formidable reputations in both America and Europe. 

Timothy O'Sullivan's famous image of the sweeping cliffs and White House Ruins of Canon de Chelle—called by Ansel Adams 'an image of great power and revelation'—was included by Beaumont Newhall in his landmark show Photography 1839–1937 and was reproduced in several Newhall volumes: in multiple editions of his History of Photography, in the Newhalls' 1958 Masters of Photography (this print), and in their early monograph on O'Sullivan from 1966.  The Newhalls' print of the image offered here was purchased from the celebrated Lowdermilk's Bookshop in Washington, D. C., in 1942.  Founded by William Lowdermilk, a Civil War veteran, in the 1870s, the shop concentrated on American history and politics, with government documents—including Western surveys—as one of its specialties.