At Biarritz

1890, printed 1895/1896

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image shows a seaside scene with people on wooden chairs and umbrellas, children playing in the sand, gentle waves, silhouettes in the water, rocky formations, and a serene sky. The color palette is muted sepia tones, giving a vintage feel.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    platinum print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 5.9 x 14 cm (2 5/16 x 5 1/2 in.)
    page size: 27.1 x 34.8 cm (10 11/16 x 13 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.59

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    69D

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    69

Associated Artworks

See all 35 artworks
The image shows a woman standing in a grassy field with one hand on her forehead and holding a rake in the other hand. She is wearing a long-sleeved blouse, a long skirt, and an apron tied around her waist. She has a solemn expression on her face and her hair is pulled back. The background includes rolling hills, trees, and a path leading off into the distance. No jewelry or additional objects can be seen.

The Harvest, Mittenwald

Alfred Stieglitz

1886

The image depicts two individuals: a woman and a child. The woman is standing in a doorway with one hand on the door frame, wearing a long light-colored dress with long sleeves and a braided hairstyle. The child, barefoot and wearing high socks, short pants with suspenders, a light shirt, a jacket, and a brimmed hat, stands beside her leaning against the door frame. A wooden structure resembling a barrel on a stand is on the right, with a plain wall forming the backdrop.

The Truant, Mittenwald

Alfred Stieglitz

1886

Professor Vogel

Alfred Stieglitz

1886

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. 4, pl. 1.

2002

  • Greenough, Sarah. Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs. Washington, 2002: vol. 1, cat. 69.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on interleaving tissue, lower right, in graphite: At "Biarritz." / 1890

Wikidata ID

Q64037686

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

Stieglitz won The Amateur Photographer’s “Travelling Studentship Competition” in July 1890 (see also Key Set numbers 40, 60, 62, 67, and 68) and was sent to photograph at Ile de Ré, Aranchon, Biarritz, and St.-Jean-de-Luz in the south of France. Charles Hastings of The Amateur Photographer wrote to Stieglitz: “We shall be glad of views of general interest, beach views, promenades, bathing customs.—The photographs should be large. We must of course leave the selection of views to you only reminding you that the negatives are required more for commercial purposes than as examples of art photography. . . . Views of general interest should include Cathedrals, Castles, Ruins and Public buildings of interest” (7 August 1890, YCAL).

As the rules of the competition stipulated that Stieglitz submit negatives taken during the trip to The Amateur Photographer for their use, few images from this trip are known. They include Cloud Study in Biarritz (see Christie’s, New York, auction catalogue, 26 May 1982, lot 68).

Other Collections

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

International Center of Photography, New York, 86.2002 [lantern slide]

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:

1891, Hartford (no. 75 or no. 83, as Biarritz (France))
1891, New York, Fourth Annual Joint Exhibition (no. 311, as At Biarritz)
1892, Boston (no. 323, as Biarritz)

Lifetime Publications

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

Frank Leslie’s Weekly 71 (27 December 1890): 389 (ill., At Low Tide)

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