Grasses

1933

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

This image shows a close-up view of a field of grasses covered in droplets of moisture, possibly dew. The horizon is not visible, and the focus is on the intricate details of the grass tufts and how light interacts with them. The color palette is monochromatic with shades of black, white, and gray. Light and shadow play across the grasses creating a dramatic contrast. The photograph suggests movement and depth as one looks from the prominent grasses in the foreground to the more diffuse texture in the distance.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 19.2 × 24.2 cm (7 9/16 × 9 1/2 in.)
    mount: 56.4 × 45 cm (22 3/16 × 17 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.738

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    44D

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    1504

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. 1504.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on mount, upper center verso, in graphite: AA–A+A4; center verso, in graphite: White Room
by Georgia O'Keeffe, on mount, bottom left verso, in graphite: 44D

Wikidata ID

Q64035623

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

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 Museum of Modern Art, New York, 330.1942

Other Collections

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

Collection of Richard and Ronay Menschel

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 93.XM.25.63

The Nelson-Atkins Art Museum, Kansas City, 2005.27.4387

Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1977-268-1

Princeton University Art Museum, 73.62, 74.36

Stephen White Collection, II

Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, 2018.84.19

Private collection (inscribed: For Georgia O’Keeffe / Alfred Stieglitz / 1934—December)

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:

1934, New York (no. 53, as Grasses, 1933)
1942, New York (as Grasses—Morning, Lake George, 1932)

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