From My Window at the Shelton, North

1931

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image depicts a cityscape at dusk or night, viewed from a vantage point level with the tops of nearby buildings. The horizon is low in the background, visible through a dense cluster of buildings, with faint distant lights indicating city continuation. A tall, dark skyscraper occupies the right side, lit up with white-glowing windows, casting illumination. Amidst varied architecture, an under-construction skeletal structure is seen to the left. The black and white photograph features grayscale tones, ranging from deep blacks of the buildings to light greys in the sky and highlights from lights, creating a dramatic mood.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 24.3 x 19.1 cm (9 9/16 x 7 1/2 in.)
    mount: 58.3 x 45.8 cm (22 15/16 x 18 1/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.1250

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    1B

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    1388

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

Exhibition History

1958

  • Photographs by Alfred Stieglitz, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, March 16–April 27, 1958

2001

  • Modern Art and America: Alfred Stieglitz and His New York Galleries, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2001

Bibliography

1947

  • Engelhard, Georgia. "Alfred Stieglitz: 'Father of Modern Photography.'" The Camera 69 (June 1947): 53.

  • Cramer, Konrad. "Stupendous Stieglitz." PSA Journal 13 (November 1947): 721.

2000

  • Modern Art and America: Alfred Stieglitz and His New York Galleries. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2001: no. 114.

2002

  • Greenough, Sarah. Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs. Washington, 2002: vol. 2, cat. 1388.

Inscriptions

by later hands, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite, in square: 1; upper center verso, in graphite: [arrow]; upper right verso, in graphite: F [circled] / frame for this given / to D.S.N.; lower left verso, in graphite: 1B; lower right verso, in graphite: 049

Wikidata ID

Q64036806

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

For more information about this photograph, see Key Set number 1387.

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:

National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Ph-134

Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1949-18-69

Other Collections

A print corresponding with this photograph can also be found in the following collection(s):

The Bluff Collection

The J. Paul Getty Museum, 87.XM.62

Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1997-146-24 (inscribed: Evening, New York from The Shelton / 1931 / by Alfred Stieglitz)

Princeton University Art Museum, 73.62

Location unknown (inscribed: New York Lights, Alfred Stieglitz)

Lifetime Exhibitions

A print from the same negative—perhaps a photograph from the Gallery’s collection—appeared in the following exhibition(s) during Alfred Stieglitz’s lifetime:

1932, New York (nos. 1–9, as From my window at The Shelton, north, 1931)
1934, New York (no. 38, as New York Night, 1931)
1941, New York (no. 27, as From the Shelton Hotel, 30th Story: Evening Lights, 1931)

Lifetime Publications

A reproduction of this work appeared in the following publication(s) during Alfred Stieglitz’s lifetime:

Waldo Frank et al., America & Alfred Stieglitz (New York, 1934): pl. 32d (ill., Night—New York, 1931)

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