Georgia O'Keeffe—Hands

1918, printed 1929/1934

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

This black and white image shows a close-up of a person's hand, focusing on the fingers and a portion of the wrist. The hand is positioned across the torso, with the fingers slightly curled, and partially grasping the fabric of a dark, textured garment. There is no visible jewelry or objects being held, and no facial features or hair are visible in the image. The background is indistinct, composed mostly of the same dark fabric as the hand rests upon, emphasizing the contrast between the softness of the garment and the light skin tone of the hand.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 11.2 x 8.7 cm (4 7/16 x 3 7/16 in.)
    mount: 34.5 x 27.5 cm (13 9/16 x 10 13/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1980.70.43

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    OK 515C

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    533

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, 1980.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1992

  • Two Lives: Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz—A Conversation in Painting and Photographs, The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, December 2, 1992–April 4, 1993; IBM Gallery of Science and Art, New York, April 27–June 26, 1993; The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, July 17–September 12, 1993; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 2–December 5, 1993

  • Stieglitz in the Darkroom, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, October 4, 1992–February 14, 1993

Bibliography

1992

  • Arrowsmith, Alexandra, Thomas West, and Belinda Rathbone. Two Lives: A Conversation in Paintings and Photographs. Exh. cat. The Phillips Collection, Washington and New York, 1992: 32.

2002

  • Greenough, Sarah. Alfred Stieglitz: The Key Set: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection of Photographs. Washington, 2002: vol. 1, cat. 533.

Inscriptions

by later hands, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: A better print than this?; lower right verso: 05

Wikidata ID

Q64036952

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

For information about the date of this photograph, see Key Set number 530.

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:

George Eastman Museum, Rochester, 74:0052:0048

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