Robert Frank

flush-mounted to Masonite, a Museum of Modern Art exhibition label, with typed credit, title, date, and exhibition numbers, a label with credit, date, and annotations in pencil, and a collection stamp on the reverse, 1959 

The photographer to Robert Delpire

New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Photographs by Callahan and Frank, January - April 1962

Jacob Deschin, 'Two-Man Exhibit: Photography by Callahan and Frank At Museum of Modern Art,' The New York Times, 4 February 1962, section 2, p. 21

Robert Frank, The Lines of My Hand (Tokyo, 1972), cover and pl. 76

This early exhibition print (#197 in 'Photographs by Callahan and Frank' at MoMA, from January 31 through April 1, 1962), with a subtle surface sheen, is in generally good condition. It is trimmed to the image and flush-mounted to Masonite. The print is separating from the Masonite mount in a few areas and is age-darkened along the periphery. Wear commensurate with age is evident overall, such as faint scuffs and indentations, and tiny adhesions. There is a long, diagonal crease at the upper left corner that appears to break the emulsion, as well as an approximately 4-inch crease near the left edge that does not appear to break the emulsion. A few areas of subtle discoloration are visible upon close examination: a few gray droplets in the upper left quadrant; a rust-colored spot near the left edge; and a few milk-colored areas along the lower left edge. The sides of the Masonite mount are painted black, and the paint is scuffed or chipped in several areas. The reverse is faintly soiled, scuffed, and age-darkened overall. The MoMA exhibition label is inscribed in an unidentified hand in pencil: 'Exposé á Valence.' A small white label in annotated in an unidentified hand in pencil: 'Robert Frank / Tennessee, 1959 / RF 139' and 'CXX.' '3460' is also written on the reverse in red ink and a small piece of masking tape is annotated in an unidentified hand in pencil '30040 - II (s).' There are two square tape remnants at the upper left and upper right
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This print was included in the 1962 exhibition Photographs by Harry Callahan and Robert Frank at The Museum of Modern Art.  Organized by Edward Steichen with the assistance of Grace Mayer, then associate curator, the exhibition juxtaposed the two photographers’ work in a large show featuring more than 200 photographs.  Although both photographers had been exhibited at the Museum in three previous group shows, including Family of Man, their 1962 joint exhibition was the most significant and complete showing of their work to date.  Frank’s early work from London, Wales, New York, and Peru was well-represented in this exhibition, as were his photographs from the recently published The Americans.  The present photograph represented Frank’s newest body of work.

This image was reproduced on the cover of the limited first edition of The Lines of My Hand, published by Yugensha, Tokyo, in 1972.   Of this image, Jack Kerouac in 1960 sent the following on a postcard to Frank: 'Dear Robert — That photo you sent me of a guy looking over his cow on the Platte River is to me a photo of a man recognizing his own mind's essence, no matter what — Jean ton copain' (Robert Frank: Thank You, p. 3).