Sunlight Effect

1890, printed 1895/1896

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image shows a young woman seated on a grassy slope. She is positioned in a side profile, with her knees drawn up and her feet bare. She wears a long-sleeved dress with rolled-up sleeves and a patterned headscarf that covers most of her hair. In her hands, she holds a bundle of leaves or flowers. The background is filled with dense foliage and vegetation.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    platinum print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 18.3 × 14.8 cm (7 3/16 × 5 13/16 in.)
    page size: 34.8 × 27 cm (13 11/16 × 10 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.65

  • Volume Title

    Sun Prints, 3

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    74D

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    65

Associated Artworks

See all 29 artworks
There is an image of a man from the mid-torso up. He is turned slightly to the side but gazes directly at the viewer. The man has a full, thick beard and mustache, with short, wavy light-colored hair. He wears a dark coat with a high collar, buttoned at the front. There is no visible jewelry or objects being held. The background is plain and dark.

Professor Vogel

Alfred Stieglitz

1886

This photograph depicts an old stone building facade. The structure has a central archway with a balcony above it, adorned with potted plants. Clotheslines with drying laundry are visible. The stone walls appear weathered and textured. A cobblestone pathway adds to the historic feel. Wooden beams support the structure above the archway.

A Nook in Pallanza

Alfred Stieglitz

1887

The image displays a sepia-toned scene by a lakeside where women in period clothing wash clothes. The perspective is from the shoreline, showing the activities near the water. The overcast sky blends into distant mountains, which dominate the background. A large sailboat and smaller wooden boats are docked at the shore, with a man carrying a basket onboard. In the distance, a group of people stands by railings extending into the lake, lined with trees. The image has a muted tone with grey-scale, highlighting the historical aspect. The water reflects the sky, contrasting against the rocky shore.

Washerwomen at Lake Como

Alfred Stieglitz

1887

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

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Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Georgia O'Keeffe; gift to NGA, 1949.

Associated Names

Bibliography

2002

  • Greenough, Sarah. Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs. Washington, 2002: vol. 1, cat. 65.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on interleaving tissue, lower right, in graphite: Sunlight Effect.

Wikidata ID

Q64037790

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

This photograph was incorrectly titled Study in Light and Shade when it was reproduced in a review of the 1891 “Fourth Annual Exhibition of Photographs” by the Photographic Society of Philadelphia, The Boston Camera Club and Society of Amateur Photographers of New York (see “Art in Photographs,” The Sun [24 May 1891], 16). Another review of the exhibition notes that “Sunlight Effect” was a picture of “a girl sitting on a hillside” (see The American Amateur Photographer 3 [July 1891], 260).

The negative for this photograph and Key Set number 66 was made with a Steinheil Rapid Rectalinear 19-inch lens, using a Vogel-Obernetter plate. It was developed with oxalate, pyrosoda, hydroquinone, and eikonogen (see exh. cats., Society of Amateur Photographers, New York, 1891, and the Fourth Annual Joint Exhibition, New York, 1891).

Other Collections

A print corresponding with this photograph can also be found in the following collection(s):

Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1995-2-25 [lantern slide] (inscribed: 24. A Study)

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:

1891, New York, Fourth Annual Joint Exhibition (no. 317, as Sunlight Effect)
1891, New York, Society of Amateur Photographers (no. 233, as Sunlight Effect)

Lifetime Publications

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

“Art in Photographs,” The Sun (24 May 1891): 16 (ill., Study in Light and Shade, line drawing)

“The Progress of Amateur Photography—Some Remarkable Specimens of Figure Work,” Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly 75 (9 January 1892): 402 (ill., A Study)

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