Songs of the Sky XX5 or Equivalent XX5

1923 or 1929

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

This black-and-white photograph shows a view looking upwards towards a dark sky filled with heavy, dramatic clouds. The clouds vary in density and color, ranging from deep black to lighter gray. The moon is partly visible in the upper center of the photograph, but it is obscured by a thin patch of clouds, creating a subtle glow visible through breaks in the cloud cover and illuminating the edges of the clouds. The sky beyond the clouds is black.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 11.7 x 9.1 cm (4 5/8 x 3 9/16 in.)
    mount: 34.2 x 27.6 cm (13 7/16 x 10 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.946

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    251E

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    955

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. 955.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: XX5 [5 in subscript]
by Georgia O'Keeffe, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: 251-E

Wikidata ID

Q64036114

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

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