Robert Frank

titled and dated '1955' and signed and dated '77' in ink in the margin, the archive stamp, with title, 'Americans 53,' and '470' in pencil, and numerical notations in pencil on the reverse, framed, 1955, printed in the 1970s

Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York, 2014

The Americans, no. 53

Sarah Greenough, Looking In: Robert Frank’s The Americans, pp. 274 and 475, and Contact no. 53

Gilbert Millstein, 'In Each a Self-Portrait,' The New York Times, 17 January 1960, p. 134

Willy Rotzler, ‘Der Photograph Robert Frank,’ Du, January 1962, p. 19

Michael Shelden, 'Melancholy and Menace,' Telegraph Magazine, 3 May 2008, p. 32

This photograph, on double-weight paper with a semi-glossy surface, is in generally excellent condition. Upon close inspection, a 1/2-inch thin horizontal, blue-toned deposit, likely retouching, is visible in the center of the image. In raking light, some scattered, tiny deposits, possibly retouching, are visible. There is a 3/8-inch crescent-shaped crease in the upper margin. The title and dates are slightly smudged, and there are scattered deposits of indeterminate nature throughout the margins. The margin corners are bumped, with the top paper-ply folded back at the tips, and the lower left margin corner is creased. In the upper left corner of the margin there is a stray grey mark from exposure during processing. The Robert Frank Archive stamp is annotated 'Americans 53,' 'Cocktail Party New York City,' and '470' in an unidentified hand in pencil. Other notations in pencil are 'RF 00A' and 'RF.A.0I.053.3.' This photograph has undergone conservation, and a treatment report is available upon request from the department. It is believed that only 2 other prints of this image have previously been offered at auction.
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.

According to photography scholar and curator Peter Galassi, Robert Frank was invited to the cocktail reception at The Museum of Modern Art, pictured here, by Edward Steichen, the director of the Department of Photography (Robert Frank: In America, p. 25).  The image is a witty jab at Americans’ appreciation of art: there is no art in sight, only well-to-do patrons sipping champagne and socializing.

Steichen was an important early supporter of Robert Frank.  The two met in the summer of 1950, when Steichen was preparing his 51 American Photographs exhibition.  Four of Frank’s photographs were selected for inclusion.  In the intervening years before his retirement in 1962, Steichen chose Frank’s photographs for no less than ten exhibitions.  Among these were Post-War European Photography (1953), which included 22 of Frank’s photographs – only Ernst Haas was represented as strongly – and Photographs by Harry Callahan and Robert Frank (1962), with 86 Frank photographs, 30 of which were from The Americans.  As Steichen prepared for his blockbuster Family of Man exhibition in January 1955, Frank introduced Steichen to several Swiss photographers for the project, and Steichen selected seven of Frank’s pre-Americans images for the show and accompanying book.  Significantly, in the same year, Steichen wrote a letter of recommendation to accompany Frank’s Guggenheim Fellowship application.