Tree Set 1

probably 1924

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image shows a black and white photograph of a leafless tree seen from a low vantage point. The tree's branches stretch upward towards a cloudy sky, with no visible horizon. The branches are sharply defined against the overcast sky, showing intricate details. The color palette is monochromatic, with the tree's black contrasting with the various shades of gray in the sky. There are no visible brushstrokes, and the photograph captures a moody and dramatic scene.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 11.3 × 9 cm (4 7/16 × 3 9/16 in.)
    mount: 34.3 × 27.6 cm (13 1/2 × 10 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.684

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    191B

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    1046

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.

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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. 1046.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: 1; bottom right verso, in graphite: D.
by Georgia O'Keeffe, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: Tree Set 2
by later hand, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: 191 B

Wikidata ID

Q64035487

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

“There is the old Chestnut Tree on the upper hill sticking in my system.—The tree is completely dead this year. A heroic figure. Most difficult to express. But I’ll make another attempt” (Stieglitz to Sherwood Anderson, 21 May 1924). “I am curious to see my old friend the Dying Chestnut on the Hill—What a wonder that lone tree is.—Maybe this year I’ll manage to get a real picture of that heroic figure. I have been ‘looking’ for years—& wondering how I can get it down.—I have tried and failed so often” (Stieglitz to Sherwood Anderson, 18 June 1924; both letters YCAL and Newberry Library). “Death alive everywhere. Marvellous [sic] trees dead—dying. A hero on the Hill dying for years—an old chestnut—now completely dead. Still a hero—” Stieglitz to Alfred Kreymborg, 9 June 1924 (YCAL).

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