Songs of the Sky M3

1923

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image shows soft, swirling shapes and lines blending into one another in an abstract composition. The central area is lighter, resembling a moon among clouds or fog in a night sky. The interplay of light and shadow creates a mysterious atmosphere. The composition is shrouded in a cloudy texture.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 11.7 x 9.2 cm (4 5/8 x 3 5/8 in.)
    mount: 34.3 x 27.6 cm (13 1/2 x 10 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.1118

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    217A

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    938

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. 938.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: M3 [3 in superscript]
by Georgia O'Keeffe, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite, underlined: 217-A

Wikidata ID

Q64036507

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

This photograph and Key Set numbers 936 and 937 are dated based on their relationship to Key Set number 939.

Stieglitz Collections

A corresponding print was given to the following institution(s) by Alfred Stieglitz during his lifetime, or was received or acquired from the estate:

The Phillips Collection, Washington, nos. 1850 (inscribed: L1 / N1) and 1851 (inscribed: L2 / N2)

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