Songs of the Sky or Equivalent

1923/1927

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image shows a dark, dramatic sky filled with heavy clouds. The horizon is low, and the sky fills most of the view. The clouds create a swirling effect. The brushstrokes are intense, capturing the texture of the sky. The colors are mainly deep grays and blacks, with a small section of pale light where the clouds part slightly. There is a faint strip of land or treetops at the bottom of the image.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 9 x 11.4 cm (3 9/16 x 4 1/2 in.)
    mount: 34.9 x 27.6 cm (13 3/4 x 10 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.1028

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    148C

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    986

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

2005

  • Visual Music, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC, 2005

Bibliography

2002

  • Greenough, Sarah. Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs. Washington, 2002: vol. 2, cat. 986.

Inscriptions

by Georgia O'Keeffe, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: 148C

Wikidata ID

Q64036304

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