Ma and Georgia Engelhard

1915

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image shows two people seated, with their bodies visible from approximately the waist up. On the left is a young girl sitting sideways on a bench, with both of her legs crossed and resting on it. She has long, wavy hair adorned with a large bow on the left side. She has a serious expression, and wears a light-colored dress with a textured knit cardigan. Her right hand is holding what appears to be a notebook or piece of paper, and her left hand is also resting on it. To the right sits an older woman, facing forward. Her hair is dark, parted in the middle, and tied back. She has a gentle expression, slightly smiling. She wears a dark, long-sleeved dress with faint striped patterns, and she is occupied with what looks like crocheting or knitting, holding yarn or thread between her hands. The backdrop is outdoors, with blurred foliage and what seems to be steps or a building structure in the upper background, suggesting a garden or yard setting.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    platinum print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    image: 24 x 19.5 cm (9 7/16 x 7 11/16 in.)
    sheet: 25.3 x 20.2 cm (9 15/16 x 7 15/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.359

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    87B

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    412

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

1958

  • Photographs by Alfred Stieglitz, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, March 16–April 27, 1958

Bibliography

2002

  • Greenough, Sarah. Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs. Washington, 2002: vol. 1, cat. 412.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: Exhibition / 1921 / Ma & Georgia Engelhard
by later hand, on mount, lower left verso, in graphite: 87 B

Wikidata ID

Q64034871

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

Stieglitz was close to his niece Georgia Engelhard, the daughter of his sister Agnes and her husband George Engelhard. As part of a series of exhibitions of children’s art at 291, he showed her work in 1916. As she grew older, her earthy sense of humor, daring spirit, and athletic nature endeared her also to O’Keeffe who granted “Georgia Minor” or “The Kid,” as the family called her, the rare privilege of accompanying her on painting expeditions. An amateur photographer and internationally recognized equestrian, Engelhard also became a celebrated mountain climber.

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:

1921, New York (no. 64, as Grandmother and Grandchild, 1915)

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