Songs of the Sky

1924

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image shows a low vantage point looking upward towards the sky. The horizon is visible at the bottom, defined by a dark silhouette of a hill with trees. Above the horizon, the sky is covered with textured clouds in shades of gray. The clouds create a pattern across the upper portion of the image. The color palette is monochromatic with shades of black, white, and gray emphasizing the contrast between the clouds and the land below.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 11.5 x 9.2 cm (4 1/2 x 3 5/8 in.)
    mount: 34.2 x 27.6 cm (13 7/16 x 10 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.909

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    172C

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    1060

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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Discover over 1,000 artworks that the artist’s wife Georgia O’Keeffe termed his “Key Set” of prize photographs. Museum scholars have illuminated each work, his career, practices, and lifetime achievements.

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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. 1060.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on mount, center verso, in graphite: 1+
by Georgia O'Keeffe, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: 172C
by later hand, on mount, lower right verso, in graphite: D

Wikidata ID

Q64036029

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

The date is based on compositional similarities to Key Set number 1057.

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