The Village Philosopher

1894, printed 1929/1934

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image shows the upper half of an elderly man's body. He is seated at a table with his head resting on his hand, gazing thoughtfully out of the window. His facial features are defined with a pronounced profile, including a prominent chin and nose. He has short, thinning hair, which is gray. The man is wearing a loose-fitting shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a vest over it. In front of him on the table is an open book. The background reveals a softly lit room with a window that allows natural light to illuminate the space. Books can be seen stacked on a shelf or table behind him, and there is a potted plant nearby.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 20.8 x 15.6 cm (8 3/16 x 6 1/8 in.)
    mount: 37.5 x 29.1 cm (14 3/4 x 11 7/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.185

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    50D

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    205

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. 205.

Inscriptions

by Georgia O'Keeffe, on mount, lower left verso, in graphite: 50D

Wikidata ID

Q64034731

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

For more information about this photograph, see Key Set number 202.

For Stieglitz’s description of Gutach, see Key Set number 171.

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