Sime Herrmann

1894, printed 1895/1896

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image shows an artist in profile seated next to a large painting. The artist appears concentrated on his work, which depicts boats and buildings in a Venetian setting. The lighting suggests an indoor environment, likely a studio. The brushstrokes on the canvas capture water and architectural details. The artist holds a palette and brushes. The overall palette of the image is sepia-toned. Surrounding furniture and fabric create a cluttered atmosphere. Additional framed artworks are visible on the walls.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    platinum print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 10.5 × 15.5 cm (4 1/8 × 6 1/8 in.)
    page size: 27 × 34.8 cm (10 5/8 × 13 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.189

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    71E

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    110

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

2002

  • Alfred Stieglitz: Known and Unknown, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, June 2–September 2, 2002; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 6, 2002–January 5, 2003

Bibliography

2002

  • Greenough, Sarah. Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs. Washington, 2002: vol. 1, cat. 110.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on interleaving tissue, upper right, in graphite: Sime Herrmann, / 1894

Wikidata ID

Q64037698

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

The son of a New York brewery owner, Frank Simon (“Sime”) Herrmann was a childhood friend of Stieglitz’s. He studied at City College of New York and at the Munich Academy. An amateur photographer and member of the Munich Secession, he and Stieglitz traveled together in Europe in the 1880s. He also accompanied Stieglitz and Emmy to Katwijk aan Zee in 1894. Although Herrmann did not return permanently to America until 1919, he and Stieglitz remained close throughout their lives.

In the fall of 1893 Herrmann returned briefly to America and set up a studio in his family’s house in Orange, New Jersey. He, Stieglitz, and William B. Post, all members of the Society of Amateur Photographers of New York, often photographed together. Post photographed Herrmann in this same setting, but in front of a different painting (see Swann Galleries, auction catalogue, 8 October 1991, lot 394). Post also photographed Stieglitz and Herrmann together (see The Critic, 1894, platinum print, Princeton University Art Museum, 1995-121).

Other Collections

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

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 86.XM.622.5

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