Going to the Start

1904, printed 1905

Alfred Stieglitz (editor/publisher) after Various Artists

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

This is a photograph of a horse race. The image shows several horses and riders in motion along a curving racetrack. In the foreground, a crowd of spectators is gathered, some holding umbrellas. A vertical beam or column bisects the view from the spectators' area. In the background, the field is framed by trees and buildings. The atmosphere conveys anticipation and excitement as the race unfolds. The photograph has a monochromatic tone.

Media Options

This object’s media is not available for download. Contact us about image usage.
Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    photogravure

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    image: 21.2 × 19 cm (8 3/8 × 7 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.1272.36

  • Volume Title

    Camera Work 12, October 1905, pl. 3

  • Copyright

    Image courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art

  • Key Set Number

    291

Associated Artworks

See all 10 artworks

Camera Work: Vol.3: Numbers 9-12

Alfred Stieglitz

1905

The image shows two horses standing side by side. The horse on the left is dark in color, while the one on the right is light colored. Both horses are wearing harnesses with reins attached. The dark horse's mane covers part of its face, while the light-colored horse's mane is smoother and lighter. The image has a slightly out-of-focus look, giving it an artistic, vintage feel. The background is a hazy landscape, suggesting a countryside environment. The image is in black and white.

Horses

Alfred Stieglitz

1904

The image shows a street view of a winter scene. It features a snow-covered road with a horse-drawn carriage moving towards the viewer. The horizon is obscured by a snowstorm, blending the sky with the snowy elements. Tall buildings are seen on the right side, gradually fading into the distance. The brushstrokes in the image give a soft, blurred effect, resembling early photographs. The color palette is monochromatic in grayscale tones, highlighting the cold environment. The snow is depicted as thick and mushy, with tracks from previous vehicles visible. In the background, other carriages and figures can be faintly seen through the falling snow.

Winter—Fifth Avenue

Alfred Stieglitz

1893

The image shows a man leaning his head on his hand, positioned with his face resting on his left hand. He has a mustache, thin-framed eyeglasses, and thick, greying hair that curls slightly at the edges. He is dressed in a formal jacket, a white shirt, and a black bow tie. The background is a soft, dark blur.

Alfred Stieglitz

Curious for more Alfred Stieglitz scholarship?

Discover over 1,000 artworks that the artist’s wife Georgia O’Keeffe termed his “Key Set” of prize photographs. Museum scholars have illuminated each work, his career, practices, and lifetime achievements.

Learn about the Key Set

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Georgia O'Keeffe; gift to NGA, 1949.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1992

  • Stieglitz in the Darkroom, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, October 4, 1992–February 14, 1993

Bibliography

2002

  • Greenough, Sarah. Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs. Washington, 2002: vol. 1, cat. 291.

Wikidata ID

Q64037876

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

Morris Park, a horse track in the Bronx, was converted to an automobile race course after the 1904 thoroughbred racing season.

Lifetime Exhibitions

A print from the same negative—perhaps a photograph from the Gallery’s collection—appeared in the following exhibition(s) during Alfred Stieglitz’s lifetime:

1905, Vienna, Camera Klub (no. 45, as Going to the Start)
1905, Berlin (no. 56, as Going to the Start)
1905, Portland (no. 24, as A Proof—Going to the Start)
1905, London (no. 132, as Going to the Post)
1905, Worcester (no. 388, as Going to the Post)
1905, New York, Photo-Secession (no. 82, as Going to the Post)
1906, Paris (no. 621, as Le Galop d’essai)
1906, Philadelphia (no. 117, as Going to the Post)
1906, Cincinnati (no. 63, as Going to the Post)
1909, New York (no. 186, as Race Track, 1904)
1909, Dresden (no. 169, as The Race Track)
1910, Buffalo (no. 435, as Going to the Post, Morris Park, 1904, photogravure)
1913, New York (no. 16, as Going to the Post, Morris Park, 1904)
1915, New York (as The Race Track)
1944, Philadelphia (no. 19, as Going to the Post—Morris Park, 1904)

Lifetime Publications

A reproduction of this work appeared in the following publication(s) during Alfred Stieglitz’s lifetime:

Camera Work 12 (October 1905): pl. 3 (ill., Going to the Start, 1904)

“A Farewell Visit to the Two London Exhibitions,” The Amateur Photographer 42 (31 October 1905): 355 (sketch of photograph, Going to the Post)

Charles Holme, ed., Art in Photography (London, 1905): pl. us.xvii (ill., Going to the Post)

R. Child Bayley, ed., The Complete Photographer (New York, 1906): opp. 280 (ill., Going to the Start)

J. Nilsen Laurvik, “Alfred Stieglitz, Pictorial Photographer,” The International Studio 44:174 (August 1911): 24 (ill., Going to the Post)

Note

Image courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art

You may be interested in

Loading Results