Alfred Stieglitz

flush-mounted, mounted again to a larger card, 1922

Doris Bry, New York, 1994

Greenough 775

This early print, appropriately warm in the highlights and with a faint surface sheen, is characteristically flush-mounted and mounted again. When the print is examined closely in high raking light, tiny deposits of the photographer's original retouching are visible. Faint silvering of the thin wires and small bird is also visible in raking light. There is miniscule wear along the print's right edge. As is typical with Stieglitz's Equivalents, this print is flush-mounted onto a sheet of thin board. After flush-mounting, Stieglitz typically mounted his Equivalents again to a larger sheet of similar board, as is the case here. The secondary mount is slightly age-darkened at the edges. The reverse is lightly soiled from handling and there are rice paper hinge remnants along the upper edge. Also on the reverse, '180 D' and '16' are written in an unidentified hand in pencil.
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.

Sarah Greenough, in Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set, locates only three additional prints of this image, all in institutional collections: the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.; Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University; and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

"I do not know which to prefer,

The beauty of inflections

Or the beauty of innuendos,

Or the blackbird whistling

Or just after."

 

WALLACE STEVENS, from Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, 1917