Kettle Cleaner, Lake Como

1887, printed 1929/1934

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image shows a person standing in shallow water near a rocky shoreline, holding a large bucket with both hands. The person's face is visible, with their head slightly bent forward. They are dressed in a long-sleeved shirt with rolled-up sleeves, a cloth wrapped around their head, and a patterned skirt or cloth around the waist. The background consists of calm, rippling water and a natural shoreline with pebbles and rocks scattered around.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 11.2 x 15.1 cm (4 7/16 x 5 15/16 in.)
    mount: 34.9 x 27.2 cm (13 3/4 x 10 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.47

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    106A

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    50

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. 50.

Inscriptions

by later hand, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: #2

Wikidata ID

Q64034661

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

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:

1899, New York (no. 17, as The Kettle Girl, 1887, platinum direct)
1934, New York (no. 4, as Kettle Cleaner, Lake Como, 1887, gelatin silver)

Lifetime Publications

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

William George Oppenheim, “Photography and Law,” The American Amateur Photographer 6:4 (April 1894): 174 (ill., Kettle Girl, Lake Como)

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