From the Back-Window—291—Wall Closing In

1916

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image shows an urban scene with tall buildings framing both sides. The building on the left has ornate architectural details, while the one on the right has fire escapes. In the center, there is an open space revealing the steel framework of a building under construction. A tree partially obscures the lower portion of the scene. The buildings create a silhouette against the sky, and the overall color palette is monochromatic with shades of gray.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    platinum print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 24 × 17.8 cm (9 7/16 × 7 in.)
    mount: 50.5 × 38 cm (19 7/8 × 14 15/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.400

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    13C

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    428

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. 49.

2002

  • Greenough, Sarah. Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs. Washington, 2002: vol. 1, cat. 428.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on mount, center left verso, in graphite: 1916 / from 291
by later hand, on mount, lower left verso, in graphite: 13 C

Wikidata ID

Q64034912

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

For more information about this photograph, see Key Set number 426.

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:

possibly 1921, New York (no. 53, as Wall Closing In, 1915, from the series “From the Back-Window—291”)

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