Alfred Stieglitz The Steerage

Photographs from The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Sold to Benefit Acquisition Funds
Alfred Stieglitz
1864 - 1946
The Steerage

large-format photogravure on vellum
image: 12½ by 10⅛ in. (31.8 by 25.7 cm.)
Executed in 1907, printed in or before 1915.

Please note that this lot will not be on view during the sale exhibition. It is located at our Long Island City, New York storage facility. If you would like to examine it in person before the sale please contact Anjli Patel at Anjli.Patel@sothebys.com

Condition Report:
Please note the colors and shades in the online catalogue illustration may vary depending on screen settings.

This print is in generally good to very good condition. There is an approximately 3 inch repaired tear in the upper left quadrant. There is an erased pencil annotation in the lower right margin and registration marks in the upper and lower margins.

There is adhesive residue throughout the reverse at the edges and a red ink deposit.

Catalogue Note:
In his preface to the 1977 exhibition catalogue The Target Collection of American Photography, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Director William C. Agee wrote, "We looked for the picture which would say the most, or would sum up, in so far as possible, the attitude, technique, and approach of each photographer. In some cases, that meant a 'classic' image, such as Alfred Stieglitz's The Steerage, which seemed imperative; to my mind it is the Desmoiselles d'Avignon of modern photography." The Target Collection of American Photography began with a transformative corporate gift in 1976 which funded the creation of the Museum's photography department. The Collection has expanded to comprise over 400 photographs by American artists such as Robert Frank, Dorothea Lange, Joel Sternfeld, Alfred Stieglitz, and Edward Weston, among many others.

Provenance:
The Cronin Gallery, Houston

Gift of the above in 1976 to the present owner

The Target Collection of American Photography