Edward Steichen

title, date, and annotations 'Hollywood' and 'No. 7' in the negative, signed and dated in pencil on the image, signed and extensively annotated in pencil on the reverse, framed, 1928 (Vanity Fair, October 1929, p. 62)

The Weston Gallery, Carmel

Pace Wildenstein, New York, 2000

 

This early, somewhat warm-toned contact print, on double-weight paper with a slightly glossy surface, is in generally good to very good condition. Steichen's deliberate and controlled use of light and shadow render a dramatic and highly detailed studio portrait, and the present photograph is an exceptionally nuanced printing of this image. The photographer's contouring in the sitter's face is a feature of the negative. This photograph may previously have been affixed to a mount. In the lower portion of the image, there is a faint and very soft horizontal crease the width of the print. On the reverse, there are small abrasions to the upper paper ply and adhesive deposits. This does not detract in a meaningful way from this rare early print of this iconic image. Uneven silvering is visible primarily in raking light in the dark areas of the print, most notably in the lower portion of the image. There is a small, sharp crescent-shaped crease near the lower right edge of the image. While this may break the emulsion, it is very faint. Some soiling and a few expertly applied deposits of original retouching are visible upon close examination, as is a small errant graphite deposit near the left edge of the image. In raking light, a faint fingerprint is visible at the crown of the sitter's head. The black margin corners are bumped, and there are fingerprints and some small losses of emulsion along the edges. On the reverse, there are graphite-colored fingerprints and soiling. The following notations, most of which are in the photographer's hand and are crossed out, are in pencil on the reverse: 'insurance value $500.00'; 'mount on 14x17 1/2 equal margin top + sides'; 'Steichen 1928 (from Vanity Fair)'; 'return to Edward Steichen Museum of Modern Art New York 11 W. 53rd St.' Also on the reverse in an unidentified hand in pencil are 'verso' and 'OA1502.'
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The photograph offered here, of legendary screen siren Greta Garbo on the set of A Woman of Affairs, exemplifies Steichen’s expert use of light and shadow to render a dramatic studio portrait. In his autobiography, A Life in Photography, Steichen gave a vivid recount of the sitting:

‘When Garbo came in to pose for the Vanity Fair photograph, I asked her to sit on the chair. She straddled it and used its back for resting her arms.  I made five or six exposures, all more or less like her typical movie stills . . . but what bothered me most was her hair.  It was curled and fluffy and hung down over her forehead.  I said, “It’s too bad we’re doing this with that movie hairdo.”  At that, she put her hands up to her forehead and pushed every strand back away from her face, saying, “Oh, this terrible hair.” At that moment, the woman came out, like the sun coming out from behind dark clouds.  The full beauty of her magnificent face was revealed’ (Chapter 8, unpaginated).

This iconic image is illustrated in nearly every monograph on the photographer.