The Dying Chestnut Tree or Life and Death

1927

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image features a barren tree from a low angle, emphasizing its gnarled branches reaching toward the sky. There is no visible horizon, and the tree occupies the central and upper portion of the frame. The photograph is in black and white, creating contrast between the tree's dark bark and the lighter sky. The branches twist against the backdrop, evoking a sense of solitary elegance. The absence of leaves creates a feeling of stillness and quiet austerity.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 23.4 x 15 cm (9 3/16 x 5 7/8 in.)
    mount: 37 x 27.3 cm (14 9/16 x 10 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.678

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    95D

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    1193

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. 2, cat. 1193.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on mount, lower right verso, in graphite: 2 2
by Georgia O'Keeffe, on mount, bottom left verso, in graphite: 95 D

Wikidata ID

Q64035471

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

See Key Set number 1191.

Other Collections

A print corresponding with this photograph can also be found in the following collection(s):

George Eastman Museum, Rochester, 68:0027:0002

Joseph M. Cohen Family Collection, New York

Musée d'Orsay, Paris, PHO 2003 8 16

Private collection (3 prints)

The Sir Elton John Photography Collection

University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, 97.58.2

Location unknown

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 1932, New York (nos. 91–92, as The Dying Chestnut Tree—My Teacher, 1926)

Lifetime Publications

A reproduction of this work appeared in the following publication(s) during Alfred Stieglitz’s lifetime:

Elizabeth McCausland, “Photographs by Stieglitz Now at An American Place,” Springfield Sunday Union and Republican (16 December 1934): section E, 6 (ill., Life and Death)

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