Songs of the Sky W7

1924

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image shows a cloudy sky with a low horizon showing a silhouette of a gently sloping, tree-lined hill. The sky is filled with dark, swirling clouds. The photograph is in black and white, highlighting the contrast between the bright whites of the clouds and the deep blacks of the sky. The clouds have a soft, textured appearance, with a sense of depth and movement. The color palette, though monochrome, creates a powerful visual impact through its stark contrast, adding a moody, dramatic tone to the scene. The dark silhouette of the hill contrasts sharply with the lighter sky, grounding the composition and enhancing the sense of scale.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 11.9 x 9.2 cm (4 11/16 x 3 5/8 in.)
    mount: 34.3 x 27.5 cm (13 1/2 x 10 13/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.910

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    173A

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    1061

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. 1061.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on mount, center left verso, in graphite: W7 [7 in subscript]
by Georgia O'Keeffe, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: 173A

Wikidata ID

Q64036031

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

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

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