Ralph Eugene Meatyard

mounted, inscribed 'To - El Mochuelo' by the photographer and signed by Madelyn O. Meatyard, the photographer's widow, in ink and with the photographer's credit stamp on the reverse, 1963

Estate of the photographer

Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, 1998

Ralph Eugene Meatyard: Dolls and Masks (The Art Institute of Chicago, 2011), p. 89 (variant, with mask)

This print, mounted to heavy board, is in generally excellent condition. In raking light, the following are visible: a few deposits of original retouching in the sitter's neck and shirt; a concentration of tiny scratches, not breaking the emulsion, in the sitter's shirt; and silvering in the dark areas. The emulsion at the tip of the upper left corner is lifting slightly. There is very minor chipping to the print's edges. The upper edge of the reverse of the mount is worn. In addition to the inscription 'To - El Mochuelo' by the photographer and Madelyn O. Meatyard's signature, the following is in an unidentified hand in ink or pencil: '372A-63,' 'D#2,' and 'REM4.'
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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.

Ralph Eugene Meatyard’s personal inscription on the reverse of this print—‘To - El Mochuelo’—refers to the El Mochuelo Gallery, where Meatyard had an exhibition of his work in late 1964 and early 1965.  This short-lived Santa Barbara gallery was founded by Wayne Thompson and David Van Riper.  Although little-known today, the gallery holds an important place in the history of post-war American photography.  In 1964, Thompson and Van Riper exhibited the work of Harry Callahan and published a lavishly-printed—and now highly-collectible—monograph.  The gallerists ambitiously planned to continue to exhibit and publish the work of photographers, but the Callahan catalogue was the last of their publications.  It is very likely that the Meatyard photograph offered here was sent to El Mochuelo for his exhibition there, which may have been the gallery’s last.