Songs of the Sky or Equivalent

1923/1929

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image shows a view directly upward towards the sky, focusing on the cloudy expanse. The horizon is not visible as the perspective is captured from a ground-level angle looking straight into the sky. The clouds are dispersed across the frame, with the moon faintly visible behind a thin veil of clouds, creating an ethereal glow in the upper portion of the image. The style resembles that of a photograph given the realistic representation of the clouds and moon, highlighting intricate textures within the cloud formations. The color palette is monochromatic, dominated by varying shades of grey and black, which emphasizes the contrast between the bright moonlit areas and the dark, dense clouds surrounding them.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 11.8 x 9.3 cm (4 5/8 x 3 11/16 in.)
    mount: 34.5 x 27.4 cm (13 9/16 x 10 13/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.1179

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    143D

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    977

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

Curious for more Alfred Stieglitz scholarship?

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. 977.

Inscriptions

by Georgia O'Keeffe, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: 143D

Wikidata ID

Q64036641

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

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