Donald Davidson

probably 1922

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image depicts a close-up profile of a man's face, focusing on the right side from the ear to the chin and forehead. The man's head is slightly tilted upward. He has distinct facial features with pronounced cheekbones and a slightly angular nose. His hair is short, dark, and combed back. He is wearing a white shirt with a visible collar. The background is a plain, dark surface. No jewelry or other objects are visible.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    palladium print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    image (visible): 23 × 18.8 cm (9 1/16 × 7 3/8 in.)
    mat: 56.5 × 46.5 cm (22 1/4 × 18 5/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.582

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    80A

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    739

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. 739.

Inscriptions

by Doris Bry, on mount, lower left verso, in graphite: 80-A
by later hand, on mount, lower left, in graphite: Treated by Steichen- 6/1950

Wikidata ID

Q64035228

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

In the summer of 1922 O’Keeffe wrote Elizabeth Davidson that Stieglitz had recently made several prints including “a profile of Davidson . . . as a sweet looking young actor that all the ladies would just love” (Summer 1922, YCAL).

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 1923, New York (no. 67, as Donald Davidson, 1922)

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