Songs of the Sky

1924

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

This black and white photograph shows a vast sky filled with dark, billowing clouds. The horizon sits low in the image with a gently sloping hill stretching across from left to right. The clouds contrast against lighter patches of sky, streaked and softly textured. The monochromatic palette emphasizes the interplay between light and darkness, allowing the clouds to stand out against the distant landscape.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 9.2 x 11.6 cm (3 5/8 x 4 9/16 in.)
    mount: 34.9 x 27.4 cm (13 3/4 x 10 13/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.894

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    155B

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    1054

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

1958

  • Norman, Dorothy. "Alfred Stieglitz: Visionary Photographer." Art in America 46 (Fall 1958): 56.

2002

  • Greenough, Sarah. Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs. Washington, 2002: vol. 2, cat. 1054.

Inscriptions

by Georgia O'Keeffe, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: 155B
by later hand, on mount, lower right verso, in graphite: 155B

Wikidata ID

Q64035993

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 Art Institute of Chicago, 1949.793

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, YCAL MSS 85, box 121, folder 2439

Fisk University, Nashville, and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, ASC.2012.91

George Eastman Museum, Rochester, 74:0052:0090 (inscribed: 1924 / 1925)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 28.128.5 (inscribed: Equivalent—1924 / Alfred Stieglitz / 1924)

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 50.854

Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1949-18-88

The Phillips Collection, Washington, no. 1834

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 52.1826

Other Collections

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

Collection of Richard and Ronay Menschel, no. 2574

The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College

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