The Letterbox

1894, printed 1897

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image shows two young girls standing barefoot on a dirt or gravel floor. The girl on the right is inserting an envelope into a wall-mounted mailbox labeled 'POSTBRIEFKASTEN.' The other girl stands slightly behind, looking upward. Both girls have their hair tied back and wear traditional attire. In the background, a window above the mailbox is partially open with shutters. Another figure is partially visible in another window to the far left. The setting appears to be a residential or public building exterior with a textured wall surface and raised window sills.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    photogravure

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    image: 19.7 x 14.5 cm (7 3/4 x 5 11/16 in.)
    sheet: 43 x 35.4 cm (16 15/16 x 13 15/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.154

  • Portfolio Title

    Picturesque Bits of New York and Other Studies

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    61C

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    183

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. 1, cat. 183.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, upper left, printed in black ink: COPYRIGHT 1895 BY ALFRED STIEGLITZ

Wikidata ID

Q64034717

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

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