The Dying Chestnut

1919

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image shows a close-up of a large tree trunk dominating the scene. The viewpoint is at ground level, looking up to capture the main branches extending upward. The horizon is obscured by the tree and branches, with faint outlines of hills visible in the background. The image appears to be a photograph, not a painting, with a muted color palette and sepia tones. The tree's bark texture is highlighted by the lighting, and branches at the top of the image extend outward, partially adorned with leaves against a softly lit sky.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    image: 24.3 × 19.3 cm (9 9/16 × 7 5/8 in.)
    sheet: 25.2 × 20.2 cm (9 15/16 × 7 15/16 in.)
    mount: 50.7 × 38.1 cm (19 15/16 × 15 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.439

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    18C

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    617

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

Curious for more Alfred Stieglitz scholarship?

Discover over 1,000 artworks that the artist’s wife Georgia O’Keeffe termed his “Key Set” of prize photographs. Museum scholars have illuminated each work, his career, practices, and lifetime achievements.

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Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Georgia O'Keeffe; gift to NGA, 1949.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1991

  • Peters, Sarah Whitaker. Becoming O'Keeffe: The Early Years. New York, 1991: pl. 58.

2002

  • Greenough, Sarah. Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs. Washington, 2002: vol. 1, cat. 617.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: Exhibition
by later hand, on mount, upper right verso, in graphite: no. 81 (formerly 81 - 107, - 107 erased)
by Georgia O'Keeffe, on mount, lower left verso, in graphite: 18 C

Wikidata ID

Q64034955

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

“There is a great Chestnut Tree up on the Hill—some 150 yards behind the house.—It’s a majestic fellow attended only further down—not too near, by a smaller tree.—Possibly a concubine.—Well, the old fellow has been dying for some years. — And as the end nears he seems to become more majestic—more magnificent. It’s the tree I photographed last year. — A cry of the Human Soul—unheard—alone —” (Stieglitz to John Marin, 2 November 1920 [YCAL]).

In 1924 Georgia O’Keeffe made paintings of the same tree. See The Chestnut Red and The Chestnut Grey (Lynes 472 and 473).

Stieglitz Collections

A corresponding print was given to the following institution(s) by Alfred Stieglitz during his lifetime, or was received or acquired from the estate:

The Art Institute of Chicago, 1949.770

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. 81, as The Dying Chestnut, 1919)

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