Rain Drops

1927

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

This image features a close-up view focused on a dense patch of grass. The grass strands arch and overlap, filling the entire composition without a discernible horizon. The finely detailed texture shows the play of light on the blades with what seem to be drops of moisture. The monochromatic color palette ranges from light gray to deep black, emphasizing the contrast between the grass and the darker spaces between them. The intricate lines and color choice give the image a textured and somewhat ethereal quality.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 9.2 × 11.8 cm (3 5/8 × 4 5/8 in.)
    mount: 34.6 × 27.6 cm (13 5/8 × 10 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.672

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    178B

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    1197

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. 2, cat. 1197.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on mount, lower left verso, in graphite: Rain Drops — 1927 / 1927 (P + N)
by Georgia O'Keeffe, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: 178B

Wikidata ID

Q64035451

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

According to the list given by the Stieglitz Estate to the Library of Congress, this photograph was identified as an Equivalent (see “Pictorial Index of Alfred Stieglitz Photographs in the Library’s Collection,” PR12, lot 3598).

Stieglitz Collections

A corresponding print was given to the following institution(s) by Alfred Stieglitz during his lifetime, or was received or acquired from the estate:

The Art Institute of Chicago, 1949.810

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, YCAL MSS 85, box 121, folder 2441

Library of Congress, Washington, PH-32 A

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 28.128.10

Other Collections

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

Private collection

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:

1932, New York (no. 69, as Raindrops on Grass, 1925)

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