Kitty

1898

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

This sepia-toned photograph depicts a baby lying on its side, facing the camera, its head to the right of center and its feet off to the left. The baby is on a soft surface, wrapped in a light-colored garment that covers most of its body, with only its head and hands exposed. The baby has pale skin, large eyes, and fine hair. It is holding its hands by its mouth, sucking on one thumb. The background shows a wooden structure, possibly a wall or furniture.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    platinum print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    image: 14.9 x 20.8 cm (5 7/8 x 8 3/16 in.)
    sheet: 16 x 21.9 cm (6 5/16 x 8 5/8 in.)
    mat: 51 x 33 cm (20 1/16 x 13 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.257

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    54B

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    263

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. 263.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: Kitty 1899
by Georgia O'Keeffe, on mount, lower left verso, in graphite: 54 B

Wikidata ID

Q64034766

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

Born in 1898, Katherine “Kitty” Stieglitz was the only child of Alfred and his first wife Emmy. She graduated from Smith College in 1921, and married Milton Sprague Stearns in 1922. After giving birth to a son, Milton Sprague Stearns, Jr., in 1923, she suffered a postpartum depression from which she never recovered. She remained institutionalized until her death.

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:

possibly 1899, New York, Camera Club (no. 71, as Portrait of a Baby, 1898, platinum manipulated)
possibly 1899, Newark (no. 248, as Portrait of a Baby)
possibly 1900, Chicago (no. 115, as Portrait of a Baby)
possibly 1900, Philadelphia (no. 166, as Portrait of a Baby, glycerine-developed platinotype toned with mercury)
possibly 1903, Hamburg (no. 428, as Portrait of a Baby, platinum)
probably 1921, New York (no. 15, as Baby—Kitty, 1899)

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