Early Morn

1894, printed 1895/1896

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image shows an aerial view of two people working in a field of tall grasses. In the background, there are trees and two houses, one with a thatched roof and the other with a waterwheel. The style of the photograph includes soft, blurred edges. The color palette is primarily sepia or grayscale. The two figures in the foreground are engaged in their task, with one wearing a hat and light-colored shirt with suspenders, and the other appearing to be a woman in traditional attire. The scene is illuminated with soft light, casting faint shadows.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    platinum print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 13.4 × 18.3 cm (5 1/4 × 7 3/16 in.)
    page size: 27.3 × 34.8 cm (10 3/4 × 13 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.170

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    59E

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    194

Associated Artworks

See all 34 artworks
This is a photograph of two oxen yoked together in a field. The image depicts two oxen standing side by side in a field with a dirt-covered ground. The oxen are fitted with harnesses and a yoke. The background shows a distant horizon. The photo is in a grainy sepia tone.

An Idyll

Alfred Stieglitz

1887

The image shows a body of water with mountains in the distance. The point of view is elevated, capturing the shoreline and the water. A person leans towards a cow, holding its halter by the rocky shore. The horizon is high in the image, with the mountains forming a dark outline against the sky. The mountains appear as a soft silhouette due to the diffuse lighting. The image has a grainy and vintage texture. The color palette is monochromatic, with shades of gray and sepia. A small boat with figures is on the water, and a larger vessel is docked to the right.

The Unwilling Bath

Alfred Stieglitz

1887

This is an image of a blacksmith workshop. It shows a scene in front of a rustic building with textured stonework and arched doorways. There is a blacksmith’s anvil in the center, along with tools and a vice on a wooden bench. The entrance has an intricately carved arch. To the right, there’s a cart wheel, and sunlight casts shadows across the cobblestone. The setting conveys a sense of historical craftsmanship and rural life, with deep contrast and details in the photograph bringing out the texture of the building and ground.

Before the Smithy's

Alfred Stieglitz

1890

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. 194.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on interleaving tissue, upper right, in graphite: Early Morn, / 1894.

Wikidata ID

Q64037667

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

For Stieglitz's description of Gutach, where this view was made, see Key Set number 171.

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:

Library of Congress, Washington, PH-03 A

Other Collections

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

Saint Louis Art Museum, 731:1991

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:

1895, Calcutta (as Early Morn, silver medal)
1896, New York, The Society of Amateur Photographers of New York, “Third Annual Members’ Exhibition” (as Early Morn)
possibly 1897, New York, Knickerbocker (as The Reapers, lantern slide)
1897, London, R.P.S. (no. 440, as Early Morn, lantern slide)
1898, London, Salon (no. 71, as Harvesting)
1899, New York (no. 56, as Early Morn, 1894–1899, platinum direct)
1899, Philadelphia (no. 277, as Early Morn)
1900, Newark (no. 163, as Early Morn, 1894)
1903, Brussels (no. 435, as Early Morn)
1903, Denver (no. 145, as Early Morn)
1904, The Hague (no. 122, as Early Morn)
1921, New York (no. 7, as Harvesting, 1894)
1934, New York (no. 20, as Harvesting, Black Forest, 1894)

Lifetime Publications

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

Alfred Stieglitz and Louis H. Schubart, “Two Artists’ Haunts,” The Photographic Times 26 (January 1895): 10 (ill., ‘Harvesting’ [Gutach])

Marmaduke Humphrey, “Triumphs in Amateur Photography,” Godey’s Magazine 135 (December 1897): 585 (ill., Early Morn)

The Photographic Times 30 (August 1898): opp. 337 (ill., Early Morn, photogravure)

Die Kunst in der Photographie 2 (1898): unpaginated (ill., Kornernte)

American Pictorial Photography, Series I [published by Camera Notes] (New York, 1899): pl. 9 (ill., Early Morn, photogravure)

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