The Rag Picker

1892/1893, printed 1929/1934

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

This is a photograph of a city street scene. The photograph shows a cobblestone sidewalk lined with barrels on the right side, with a cloaked figure standing next to them. To the left, buildings rise, casting shadows on the path. Horse-drawn carts are visible further down the street, and in the background, smoke or steam billows into the sky. The light casts long shadows across the pavement, revealing the texture of the stone slabs. A few street lamps are visible. Snow patches are visible along the street.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 8.7 x 7.7 cm (3 7/16 x 3 1/16 in.)
    mount: 31.7 x 24.9 cm (12 1/2 x 9 13/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.85

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    125E

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    76

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

Exhibition History

1983

  • Photographs by Alfred Stieglitz, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, February 3–May 8, 1983; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, June 17–August 14, 1983; The Art Institute of Chicago, October 18, 1983–January 3, 1984

Bibliography

1983

  • Greenough, Sarah, and Juan Hamilton. Alfred Stieglitz: Photographs and Writings. Washington, 1983: no. 24.

2002

  • Greenough, Sarah. Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs. Washington, 2002: vol. 1, cat. 76.

Inscriptions

by Georgia O'Keeffe, on mount, lower left verso, in graphite: 125E

Wikidata ID

Q64034676

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Other Collections

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

Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1997-146-99 (inscribed: The Ragpicker—Centre St. / N.Y. 1892 / Alfred Stieglitz / 1936)

Location unknown [platinum]

Lifetime Publications

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

John Corbin, “The Twentieth Century City,” Scribner’s Magazine 33:3 (March 1903): 269 (ill., Prosperity)

Twice a Year 1 (Fall–Winter 1938): 96 (ill., The Ragpicker: New York, 1892)

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