Songs of the Sky M4

1923

Alfred Stieglitz

Associated Names
Alfred Stieglitz

Artist, American, 1864 - 1946

The image displays swirling, dark forms with gradients in an abstract manner. Shadows and highlights give the impression of wispy smoke or stormy clouds in a vast space. The scene resembles a tumultuous sky, with shapes resembling flowing contours of clouds on a stormy day.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred Stieglitz Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 11.5 x 9.1 cm (4 1/2 x 3 9/16 in.)
    mount: 34.3 x 27.5 cm (13 1/2 x 10 13/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.3.1119

  • Stieglitz Estate Number

    219C

    Part of Stieglitz Key Set Online Edition

    Learn more

  • Key Set Number

    939

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. 939.

Inscriptions

by Alfred Stieglitz, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: M4 [4 in superscript]
by Georgia O'Keeffe, on mount, upper left verso, in graphite: 219-C

Wikidata ID

Q64036510

Scholarly Remarks and Key Set Data

Remarks

Key Set number 914, which is dated 1923, and this print are made from the same negative, but have different Estate numbers.

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