Songs of the Sky and Trees

probably 1923

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image shows a low angle point of view looking up at the sky with no visible horizon line. The focus is on the clouds and a tree silhouette. The clouds are soft and wispy, while the tree appears solid and detailed. The color palette is gray and black, enhancing the contrast between the elements. The sky dominates the image, with the tree leaves in the lower left corner.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 9.1 x 11.8 cm (3 9/16 x 4 5/8 in.)
    mount: 34.3 x 27.2 cm (13 1/2 x 10 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.892

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    223E

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    888

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. 888.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on mount, upper center verso, in graphite: Top; lower left verso: 1924
by Georgia O'Keeffe, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: 223E
by later hand, on mount, lower right verso, in graphite: DD

Wikidata ID

Q64035990

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

The date is based on similarities of subject matter, composition, and print quality to Key Set numbers 883 and 884.

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