Equivalent

1927

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image shows a view from below looking up at a cloudy night sky. The horizon is not visible, with textured clouds dominating the perspective. To the right, the moon is visible behind a thin veil of clouds. The photo is monochromatic, depicting various shades of gray to capture the detail of the cloud cover. The color palette is limited to blacks, whites, and shades of gray, highlighting the contrast between the illuminated sections around the moon and the darker areas of the sky. The clouds form a dynamic pattern that suggests motion or turbulence.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 9.3 x 11.8 cm (3 11/16 x 4 5/8 in.)
    mount: 27.2 x 34.2 cm (10 11/16 x 13 7/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.989

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    151C

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    1237

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

Exhibition History

1983

  • Photographs by Alfred Stieglitz, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, February 3–May 8, 1983; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, June 17–August 14, 1983; The Art Institute of Chicago, October 18, 1983–January 3, 1984

Bibliography

1983

  • Greenough, Sarah, and Juan Hamilton. Alfred Stieglitz: Photographs and Writings. Washington, 1983: no. 138, cat. 1237.

2002

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

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on mount, upper center verso, in graphite: Top; lower left verso: 1927
by later hands, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: 151C; lower left verso: 151C / CC

Wikidata ID

Q64036212

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

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