New York from 405 E 54th Street

1936/1937

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The photograph shows an elevated view of an urban landscape. The horizon is high, above a distant bridge and cityscape. The Queensboro Bridge is visible, spanning horizontally with its ironwork and towers standing out against the sky. The image features a monochromatic color palette of grey, black, and white. A rooftop with a dome and chimney is in the foreground, with a river separating it from urban development and greenery in the background.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 8.8 x 11.6 cm (3 7/16 x 4 9/16 in.)
    mount: 31.8 x 25.1 cm (12 1/2 x 9 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.1262

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    132E

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    1619

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

Bibliography

2002

  • Greenough, Sarah. Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs. Washington, 2002: vol. 2, cat. 1619.

Inscriptions

by Georgia O'Keeffe, on mount, lower left verso, in graphite: 132E

Wikidata ID

Q64036834

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

This photograph and Key Set number 1620 look east from 405 East 54th Street toward Welfare Island (now Roosevelt Island) in the East River. As Stieglitz and O’Keeffe moved to the penthouse in October 1936, and the construction of a hospital on Welfare Island (which would begin in spring 1937) is not yet evident, the photographs were made in either late 1936 or early 1937. The titles for these two prints are based on those of similar works included in Stieglitz’s 1934 exhibition at An American Place.

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